Debris cleanup and removal from Hurricane Matthew in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia is anticipated to be an expensive process that will span several weeks.
While heavy property damage from Hurricane Matthew was concentrated in coastal areas, trees and limbs were down dozens of miles inland, and neighborhoods across the First Coast are littered with debris.
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County and local officials said they're working with every resource that they have to remove the trash left behind from the storm.
St. Augustine
By first estimates, Hurricane Matthew created over 30,000 cubic yards of yard debris, destroyed furniture and appliances and discarded construction materials throughout the city of St. Augustine. But that estimate may be low since the Public Works Department and debris removal contractors get a better idea of exactly what’s kind of debris there is and how much.
What took only a few hours to create, will take longer to remove, but there’s a plan and its already underway.
The city began the removal of storm created debris aggressively on two fronts this week: resuming an expanded schedule for household garbage and recyclables; and, with the assistance of private contractors, removal of the vegetative debris.
The well-organized system includes seven separate collection crews working by zone so as not to miss any locations. The city and its contractors will make a large scale first pass through the entire city with each team collecting an estimated 1,000 cubic yards of debris a day. But if the task proves to be larger than expected, the contractor will increase its resources to meet the challenge.
Matthew's wake of destruction was still present Wednesday just east of downtown St. Augustine, where piles of debris lined every street.
Five days after the storm hit, Bev Weeks was finally finishing up the cleanup process at her Davis Shores home.
"We had mulch and the seagrass was completely over the driveway," Weeks said.
Homeowners have a responsibility to clean up debris on their properties, officials said. Here are some debris-related reminders:
- Storm debris must be piled at the curb.
- Do not bag, barrel, or mix vegetative debris with household waste.
- Keep types of debris separate: vegetative debris, furniture/appliances; and construction materials.
- Household trash, and bagged debris of any kind, will not be picked up with storm debris.
Debris contractors will make multiple passes until cleanup is complete.
Though it's going to be a long and tedious process, residents, like Weeks, are thankful the entire community is working together to get things back to normal.
"St. Augustine is great. We are a tight community. We take care of each other. We feel very fortunate to live here," Weeks said.
The city is receiving assistance from the cities of Dunnedin, Kissimmee and Tallahassee and from Gainesville Regional Utilities and Orange County Utilities that includes over two dozen crew members and specialized equipment to assist in debris removal and restoration of utility systems.
The city will provide regular progress updates that report on amount of material collected and offers maps of where work is being performed and what areas are completed. Those reports will be posted on the city’s web site at www.CityStAug.com.
St. Johns County beaches
St. Johns County officials have hired contractors from across the country to help with clean up debris from Hurricane Matthew.
County officials said they believe removing all the debris will cost about $1.7 million, which will come out of the reserve budget. But they're hoping the Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the county.
"We're bringing out all the extra resources that we feel are necessary to get back to pre-storm conditions," said Greg Caldwell, engineer manager for St. Johns County Public Works. "We've got trucks out there rolling right now."
Debris removal planning and operations are underway for all county beaches including Ponte Vedra Beach, South Ponte Vedra Beach, Vilano Beach, St. Augustine Beach, Butler Beach, Crescent Beach and Summer Haven.
Thomas Eanes was helping with cleanup efforts at Vilano Beach Wednesday, where the sand was filled with wood, metal, plastic and all kinds of trash.
"There's a lot of debris everywhere, all up and down the beach," Eanes said.
Works crews are asking people to be careful along the coast and watch out for nails, screws and splinters.
"The process of planning is starting to understand where the debris is, how do we access the beach, what pieces of equipment are necessary to get it off the beach and collect it," Caldwell said.
For more information on beach clean-up and access during the post-storm recovery, please call the St. Johns County Emergency Management Citizen Information Line at 904-824-5550.
Duval County
Jacksonville city leaders said the most significant costs from Hurricane Matthew will come from debris removal.
The city has already allocated $550,000 to pick up debris, which will be handled in three phases: cut and toss, debris removal and reduction, and hauling. Mousa said the first phase began at 7 a.m. Saturday after the storm.
"We have removed 633 trees that were blocking roadways," Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa told the City Council Tuesday evening.
The debris collection phase began Monday. Officials said they expect it will take up to 30 days to get 95 percent of the debris picked up on a first pass around Duval County. After the initial pass, crews will go around again to pick up any other debris.
Mousa said they believe there are up to 1 million cubic yards of debris on the streets, not including what's in people's backyards. That's enough debris to fill more than 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The city's goal is to have a total of 250 trucks collecting debris, which will be taken to eight temporary sites around the country.
One of the first areas designated for debris pickup is Mandarin, where huge piles of debris were lined up in almost every front yard on Tuesday. The city said it's not going to be an easy or fast cleanup to get all the branches and limbs removed.
"We are beginning in the hardest-hit areas adjacent to the river -- south Mandarin and Arlington. We will work our way from those areas to cover the whole county. They will drive on every road and pick up everything on the curb," Mousa said.
The city said it is still assessing damage and debris removal. Residents are urged to call 904-630-CITY so officials can keep track of where to send Federal Emergency Management Agency assessment crews.
Jacksonville residents are urged to leave loose storm debris at the curb 3 feet away from utility boxes and poles, fire hydrants, mailboxes, etc. There will be no limits on loose storm debris.
Normal scheduled yard waste collection will remain for bagged waste.
Flagler Beach
Yard waste pickup in Flagler Beach will begin Thursday with help from a contracted debris collection company.
The city of Flagler Beach has contracted with Crowder Gulf: Disaster Recovery & Relief Management to pick up debris left by Matthew.
The efforts will begin Thursday and removal will begin on the west side of the city. Crowder Gulf crews will work their efforts eastward and multiple passes will be made in the coming week to assist with yard waste debris removal.
Residents can put un-bagged yard waste to the side of the road for removal. Yard waste consists of the following; branches, leaves, trees limbs, underbrush, etc. The importance of separating yard waste debris associated with the storm from normal household waste/garbage (Class 1) and construction debris (treated wood, metal, aluminum siding, etc.) cannot be understated, officials said. At this time, Crowder Gulf will make multiple passes for yard waste only.
The city's sanitation crews will be picking up household garage (Class 1) as normal and crews along with Crowder Gulf may pick up construction debris in the very near future.
“We’re asking our citizens to separate waste into three categories; yard waste debris, house waste/garbage (Class 1) and construction debris. Our goal is to remove debris created by Hurricane Matthew as quickly as possible and the assistance of our residents is paramount to these efforts,” city manager Larry Newsom said.
If there are any questions regarding the removal or yard waste debris (or any other trash removal questions), please feel free to contact City Hall at 386-517-2000.
Palm Coast
In an effort to expedite the debris removal, the city of Palm Coast asked residents to help by separating everything at the curb into the following categories:
- Vegetative debris -- leaves, logs, plants, tree branches, etc.
- Construction and demolition debris -- building materials, asphalt shingles, drywall, lumber, metal, plastics, etc.
- Normal household trash -- Normal household trash and bagged debris of any kind will not be picked up with debris as part of this program. You should continue to follow your normal garbage schedule
- Residents should not place debris piles near other objects like fire hydrants and mailboxes or under power lines or low-hanging branches that would interfere with the collection equipment
Because of the volume, Waste Pro will not be able to pick up all bagged debris on Wednesday. Simply leave the bags at curbside, and they will be picked up in the next cycle.
Clay County
Clay County is also utilizing a pre-selected debris contractor, which will begin collection of storm related
debris countywide on Monday to allow residents one more weekend before the process begins.
Once collections start, a schedule of pickup days and locations will be announced so that residents know when to anticipate pickups in their specific areas.
Residents are urged to get all storm related debris to the curb as soon as possible to ensure the contractors are able to remove the maximum amount of debris.
Storm-related debris should be separated into separate piles depending on type -- vegetative, structural, etc. -- and placed curbside, on the county right-of-way or collection. Separation of storm related debris from standard household garbage is required for all items to be collected.
Storm-related debris should not be containerized or bagged, and should be placed at least 10 feet apart from cans or bags of household garbage.
Regular household garbage collection will go on as normal.
What will be picked up: Storm-related tree and other vegetative debris, as well as any type of damaged/impacted construction material which resulted from Hurricane Matthew. This includes items such as lumber, drywall, insulation, carpets, flooring products, appliances and furniture.
What will not be picked up: Chemicals, pesticides, tires, paint cans (these items should be
transported to the Rosemary Hill Solid Waste Management Facility at 3545 Rosemary Hill Road in Green Cove Springs).
Please call Clay County Emergency Management at 904-284-7703 with any questions regarding debris or to report additional damages.
Putnam County
Debris removal began Wednesday in the south end of Putnam County and will move north.
As of Thursday evening, two crews were working to pick up vegetative debris from Hurricane Matthew, emergency officials said.
Putnam County residents are asked to keep different types of debris separated and away from fire hydrants or other obstructions. Debris should be separated into six categories: electronics, large appliances, hazardous waster, vegetative debris and construction debris.
Putnam County crews cannot remove downed trees or other debris from private property. In these situations, homeowners will need to contact a licensed tree removal service. If you can take the debris to the edge of your property to the street/road, a crew will be by to collect.
The Putnam County Landfill encourages residents to place debris on the county right-of-way. If you choose to take it to the landfill, expect long delays. Fees have been waived.
To report damage, call the citizen information line at 386-329-1904 between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Nassau County
The Nassau County commissioners planned to meet Wednesday evening to finalize plans to hire two contractors and establish a collection schedule that would likely begin Monday.
Camden County
The cities of Kingsland, St. Marys and Woodbine have water and sewer services restored.
Debris cleanup is underway and all public works departments are removing debris from streets and right of ways.
Residents in the unincorporated area of Camden County are encouraged to bring their yard debris to either the C&D or Old Still Road Landfill at NO CHARGE. They are open 7 a.m.- 5 p.m. If a resident is unable to do this, they may put yard debris that was a result of Hurricane Matthew in the right of way no later than Sunday for pick up by the road department.
The road department will first be picking up debris from the main roads, and after that is cleared, will begin working in the residential areas.
If your trash is not picked up on the regular scheduled day, please leave it out & it will be picked up by Friday.
Jekyll Island
As of early Thursday evening, storm recovery was nearly complete on Jekyll Island, official said.
The island has been working with the Georgia Department of Transportation to pick up residential debris.
Officials anticipate the majority of debris will be removed by this weekend, but will assess debris removal needs early next week and issue a schedule if needed.
Glynn County
Glynn County-hired contractor, Ceres Environmental Services, Inc. began debris collection and removal for the mainland on Friday and will begin pick up on St. Simons Island on Monday.
Pick up will continue until the work is complete.
Ceres will have more than 40 trucks working all areas in Glynn County simultaneously. Three passes will be done throughout the county to ensure all of the debris is removed from the county right-of-ways. A more detailed debris pick up schedule will be announced on Monday.
Residents are asked to place storm-generated debris in piles at the curb in front of their home as soon as possible.
Debris pick up includes woody, vegetative debris and other construction and demolition storm-related debris such as fencing, shingles, etc.
Please separate woody, vegetative debris from other debris, as there will be separate pick ups for each.
Debris placed in bags will not be picked up unless you have contracted with Republic Services for annual yard debris pick up services. All storm-related debris should be moved to the county right-of-way so it can be picked up by Ceres.
Please be advised that debris removal crews will not enter onto private property to collect or remove debris. However, private roads and subdivisions may be approved on a case-by-case basis pending Federal Emergency Management Agency pre-approval.
As residents place tree debris at the curb, they are urged to adhere to the following guidelines:
- Do not place debris on top of utilities, for example: cable, phone, electrical, storm drain boxes or fire hydrants.
- Please do not place debris in front of or around your mailbox.
- Please do not place debris in front of or around your driveway, as emergency vehicles may need to enter the area.
- Please drive with extreme caution in areas with large debris piles.
- Please do not block or dump any debris into the storm drains or ditches. This will cause a flood hazard.
- Please aid contractors by sweeping excess and loose debris from the street in front of your house.
Contractors will only collect disaster-related debris. Please do not attempt to place garbage or other household refuse with the disaster debris, as it will not be accepted.
For regular trash and recycling pick up, residents are asked to place all bins in the right-of-way and leave them there until pick up occurs or the regular pick up schedule resumes. For questions regarding regular trash pick-up or debris related pick-up, please call the Glynn County Customer Service line at 912-554-7111.
To report unsafe debris situations, please call the Glynn County Public Works Department at 912-5