As Thanksgiving approaches, Collier County hopes to salvage most of the debris from Hurricane Ian. The county is confident he will hit her 75% cleanup benchmark by the holidays, but officials say there is still a lot of work to be done.
It’s been a month and a half since Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida, bringing historic levels of flooding to Collier County. The priorities for the county’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Division are the areas most affected by flooding, said director Kari Hodgson.
“The number one priority is to get rid of everything called construction and demolition: drywall, insulation, furniture, mattresses, etc. All of these items can grow mold and make people sick. So it’s a priority,” Hodgson said. He said. “And for the same reason it clogs storm drains, it removes it from the street and the stench associated with it.”
Gardening, Ian cleanup is not an immediate concern, unlike Hurricane Irma, which brought with it a large amount of plant debris. Hodgson notices that his trees are beginning to feel the effects of saltwater intrusion from the flood waters and becomes the focus of the debris-cleaning team.
“It’s a certain advantage that some of the nutrient debris takes a little while to die, because trees try to recover from what they’ve been through,” Hodgson said. I’m looking at [debris] Get out now. ”
The community quickly learned that Ian and Irma were no match. “In Irma, the roads were littered with plant debris. [Ian] In general, where the public roads were not littered with plants or debris,” she said. “It was these areas that experienced these floods and storm surges, so it changed that mindset a bit.”
County officials planned to follow Federal Emergency Management Agency protocol after Ian’s Irma. Three weeks after her on Irma, FEMA approved entry into the gated community to collect plant debris.
The county experienced an unexpected change in FEMA guidelines at this time, causing homeowners associations to wait longer than ideal for debris collection. “When we requested that gated community debris be cleared countywide on October 5, about the same day that we started clearing debris, FEMA said, ‘No, it’s not a major countywide storm. ” said Hodgson.
Staff encourage individual participation in all gated communities by sending letters to FEMA and awaiting approval.
HOAs are expected to have debris removal insurance under FEMA guidelines, so additional steps are required for counties to get permission to enter these communities. The Solid Hazardous Waste Division considers this one of the biggest obstacles in the cleanup process.
“I think the biggest frustration was trying to reach an area that was much harder to get approval for because you only know what you know,” says Hodgson. “After you’ve weathered the storm and gotten approval like Irma did, you’re like, ‘Oh, okay, change your strategy.’ [we’ve spent] Spent a lot of time with FEMA and state representatives. Thank you for taking the time to get them here. We did her two day tour with FEMA and several days with the state. ”
Debris is being transported to the Wiggins Site near Vanderbilt Drive and the Collier County Resources Recovery Business Park just north of the county landfill. Drywall, furniture and other construction materials are crushed and hauled by tractor-trailer to the landfill in Okeechobee. Appliances are recycled and plant debris is taken to Florida Soil Builders in the northeastern part of the county. These sites are closed to the public, are state-approved, and are inspected by FEMA for compliance. 
The county expects the entire debris mission, excluding waterway debris, to cost more than $40 million. That number is likely to increase as seasonal residents return to southwest Florida.
“When our seasonal residents come back, they may find that there’s more stuff on the curb than we expected or anticipated,” Hodgson said. , the numbers can grow, and the southwestern part of Florida is a second home for many people, so not only is it seasonal, but some people aren’t home. We’ll have to see how it affects the amount of
People returning to their homes for the first time since the storm must follow county standards for sorting debris. Separate the debris into a pile of household hazardous waste such as construction and demolition debris, plant debris, and chemicals. Debris should not be placed near fire hydrants, utilities, water meters, or storm drains.
“We are asking residents to fit as much as possible into our curbside collections whether there is any vegetable waste, 4 feet long, 4 inches in diameter and bundled or put into a paper bag or container.” Hodgson said, “That way you don’t have to ask for permission to break into FEMA and try to remove it.”
Debris pick-up trucks don’t just pass through communities and roads once. The county is aware that residents are still assessing the impact of flooding and storm surges and continuing to put goods on curbs.
About 100 trucks still collect debris throughout the county.
“We work in the garbage industry and are never indifferent to complaints, but I can honestly say that the public has never been so tough on us.” Now people are starting to get a little impatient and I totally get it.I have worked in the waste management industry for 18 years and people don’t want to see their lives on the curb. For us, it has remained focused on our mission to restore and empathize with our paradise. Please understand what people are going through.”
