SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Crews are starting to collect all of the storm debris across Seminole County from Hurricane Milton.
Tuesday, our News 6 Team visited the landfill in Geneva where there is already a huge pile of tree branches and yard waste that has been dropped off.
Solid Division Waste Manager Oliver Bond expects tens of thousands of cubic yards of debris will be collected once they finish the job.
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“At this time, it’s a little hard to assess just because it’s impacted the community very differently. Some neighborhoods have had pretty severe impact, trees down and the likes, and other communities have had very little,” Bond said.
Bond anticipates the exact quantity will be significantly less than what we saw after Hurricane Ian, so he is hopeful crews will be able to complete collection faster.
Unlike pickup after Hurricane Helene, this time the county is able to hire contracted haulers to do the work and they will be reimbursed by FEMA.
“It’s a very different operation to our regular yard waste collection,” said Bond. “What we ask is that people place their debris in a single, clear pile outside their house. Ideally, if people can consolidate those piles that allows the resources that we use for this collection to pick it up with ease. Most of the resources in this are grapple trucks, so we need big piles that can easily be picked up with our claw and put into the truck.”
Bond says haulers will collect as much as possible during working hours, but it will take several weeks before they finish.
“Realistically based on the quantities we’re seeing; I think anywhere from about a month to two months. It just takes time to get through every community in the county,” said Bond. “We just ask for patience at this time. I hope people appreciate the scale of these operations, you know, just every home having a small pile of debris multiplied over the hundreds of thousands of homes throughout the county it becomes a very large operation.”
Debris should be placed in loose piles at the curbside where it’s easy for the haulers to pick up. It does not need to be binned, bagged, or bundled like normal yard waste.
The following recommendations are from Seminole County to help collection go faster:
- DO: Place debris in loose piles at the curbside
- DO: Combine with neighbors to create larger piles that are more efficient for the claw trucks to pick up
- DON’T: Do not combine vegetative (yard) debris with building materials or large items - make two separate piles
- DON’T: Do not block storm drains, mailboxes, or other structures, or place under trees, power lines, or poles, making it harder for the claw truck to pick up
- DON’T: Do not place on streets or sidewalks
- DON’T: Do not use plastic bags for vegetative debris
The county is asking homeowners to have debris ready for pick up by Oct. 21 at the latest.
If you don’t want to wait for a truck to make it to your neighborhood you can drop off debris at the landfill in Geneva (1930 E Osceola Rd) or Central Transfer Station. Fees will be waived.
For more information, visit Prepare Seminole here.