County debris total up to more than 2.3 million cubic yards as of Jan. 6
Although the City of Sarasota has completed its clean-up of storm debris generated last year by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Sarasota County staff continues to oversee contractors’ collections, the county reported this week.
As of Jan. 6, Sarasota County staff said in an advisory, hurricane debris-hauling contractors had cleared 2.318 million cubic yards from throughout the unincorporated areas of the county.
The work began on Oct. 13, 2024, the advisory noted.
The debris that has been picked was broken down by type in the advisory:
- 2,024,089 cubic yards of vegetative waste.
- 5,005 cubic yards of construction debris.
- 298,304 cubic yards of mixed waste.
In a Dec. 20, 2024 update, county staff provided the following breakdown as of Dec. 17:
- 1,972,027 cubic yards of vegetative waste.
- 2,794 cubic yards of construction debris.
- 275,302 cubic yards of mixed waste.
Of the 166 county sub-zones, 114 — 69% — had seen the collections completed, that advisory reported.
Another 10 (6%) of the sub-zones were “being reviewed for quality assurance and control,” the update said, while people in 10 more sub-zones — either on the barrier islands or within other coastal areas — had been notified that final passes were scheduled as of that time.
Finally, 32 sub-zones — 19% of the total — were designated with active collection status, that advisory said.
That Dec. 17 notice also stressed, “Please do not place additional debris out. Remaining materials are the responsibility of the property owner for disposal.”
It further noted, “Commercial properties, including traditional businesses and houses of worship,” are not eligible to have their storm debris picked up by the county’s contractors, given the guidelines of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “They are responsible for their own debris removal,” the advisory added.
“To track the progress of debris collection in a specific community,” county staff reminds the public, utilize the Debris Pickup Status Zone App.
In their Jan. 3 newsletter, City of Sarasota staff members reported that approximately 447,227 tons of storm debris was picked up.
“Just in time for the holidays, the City’s storm debris collection for Hurricanes Helene and Milton concluded Dec. 20,” the newsletter pointed out.
The city’s pickups began on Oct. 15, the newsletter continued. Thus, it said, the city’s storm debris collection contractors had removed 319,448 cubic yards of debris within the city limits “in just 66 days. … On average,” the newsletter added, contractors picked up more than 6,700 tons of debris daily during the collection period.
The 66-day initiative “puts Sarasota well under FEMA’s 90-day limit for full financial reimbursement,” the newsletter pointed out. “That means the City will be in position to recover much of the costs incurred for storm debris collection.”