Curbside debris pickup after Hurricane Ian: Dates, locations and what's accepted
TAMPA, Fla. - Four Tampa Bay area governments have announced when crews will begin collecting yard waste and debris created by Hurricane Ian.
Residents in Tampa, Hillsborough County, St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County will soon be able to pile certain items along the roadway, and solid waste crews will collect them, free of charge.
Tampa's solid waste division will pick up any hurricane-related yard debris and organic material, as long as it's curbside, starting Monday, October 3.
RELATED: What to do with sandbags now that the storm has passed?
Larger debris should be collected by a professional service, like whole trees that require being chopped into smaller pieces.
Hillsborough County trash collectors say they're assessing their hardest-hit areas first and will target collection services to those areas first, starting the first week of October.
Assessing Hurricane Ian's damage in Fort Myers area
Sanibel Causeway was split and parts of it swept away into the Gulf. Boats ended up in between damaged homes and Matlacha along with Pine Island are also seeing devastating damage. Gov. DeSantis said parts of the electric grid may need be repaired.
"It's a huge undertaking," said Travis Barnes of Hillsborough County's Sustainable Material Management. "We are very fortunate that we did not see as much damage as you are seeing down south, but there is still a lot of debris down, we are waiting to get those damage assessments in, but it will take some time to get it all cleaned up."
Pinellas County and St. Petersburg officials said small debris can be bundled, bagged or placed in trash cans for regular pickup by waste haulers.
For larger debris, property owners need to contact private contractors or bring items to a solid waste collection location.
In other parts of the Tampa Bay area, hurricane-related debris pickup information has not yet been announced, and some standard collection services are being delayed.
Polk County has a hotline, 1-800-375-0844, where residents may report debris that may be dangerous or that obstructs roadways.
Sarasota and Manatee counties have temporarily delayed regular solid waste services.
Highlands County says it will resume regular solid waste pickup, but damage and flooding may delay services.
Hardee and DeSoto counties had not announced any updates on solid waste collection, as of Thursday.
Hernando and Citrus have not indicated there is a need for hurricane-related debris pickup in their counties. Sumter County does not provide solid waste services.
Visit the following links for more information on hurricane debris collection in Bay Area counties:
- City of Tampa: https://www.tampa.gov/news/tampa-solid-waste-department-resume-residential-collection-friday-following-hurricane-ian
- Hillsborough County: https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/media-center/press-releases/2022/09/29/hillsborough-facilities-remain-closed-yard-debris-drop-off-open-trash-collection-resumes
- St. Petersburg: https://www.stpete.org/residents/good_neighbor_guides/residential_trash_recycling.php
- Pinellas County: https://go.activecalendar.com/pinellascounty/site/pressrelease/event/pinellas-update-what-to-do-about-debris-damage-and-used-sandbags/
- Polk County: https://www.polk-county.net/waste-and-recycling
- Manatee County: https://manatee.hosted.civiclive.com/departments/utilities/trash_and_recycling/yard_waste___special_items
- Sarasota County: https://www.scgov.net/government/solid-waste/trash-and-recycling
- Highlands County: https://www.highlandsfl.gov/departments/PublicSafety/stormupdates.php
- Hardee County: https://www.hardeecountyfl.gov/
- DeSoto County: https://desotobocc.com/department/landfill/residential-garbage-pick-up
- Hernando County: https://www.hernandocounty.us/departments/departments-n-z/solid-waste-and-recycling-1679
- Citrus County: https://citrusbocc.com/departments/public_works/solid_waste_management/index.php