Hurricane Ian Yard Debris Collections Could Continue Into December

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Both Hillsborough County and Tampa solid waste departments are urging patience as crews continue collecting an unprecedented amount of yard debris following Hurricane Ian.

More than a month after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28, crews are continuing to collect piles of yard waste from neighborhoods throughout the county.

Progress In The City Of Tampa

Solid waste crews in Tampa are continuing to work seven days a week, 12 hours a day to collect storm-related debris following Hurricane Ian throughout the city of Tampa, according to city officials. Those residents still waiting for yard debris to be collected can follow the progress of the collection crews using the city's Debris Cleanup Map.

Residents are reminded to pile all yard debris at the curb, unbagged.

Tampa residents also have the option of taking their vegetative storm debris to the McKay Bay Scalehouse or to two designated drop-off sites at no charge. The drop-off sites are located at 22nd Street Park at 7801 N 22nd St. and at Gadsen Park, 6901 S MacDill Ave. Vegetative debris includes tree branches, tree trunks and other leafy materials.

The designated drop-off sites are open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday until further notice. Residents are required to have a valid driver's license and a utility bill to confirm their residence in the city of Tampa.

Bagged debris will not be accepted. If bagged, waste will need to be emptied by the resident.

Storm-related vegetative debris will be ground, mulched and sent to organics companies where the mulch will be repurposed. Plastic bags can damage the mulch-processing equipment.

Progress In Unincorporated Hillsborough County

Disaster debris contractors hired by Hillsborough County are also working seven days a week to collect debris as quickly as possible, said county officials.

More than 250,000 cubic yards of debris, equaling 62,500 tons, have been collected from rights of way in unincorporated Hillsborough County so far. To put this volume into perspective, the county collects on average 45,000 to 50,000 tons of curbside yard waste annually.

Beyond what has been collected from rights of way, an additional 39,000 cubic yards has been taken to the county’s temporary residential storm debris drop-off locations.

Despite these efforts, officials say a significant amount of debris still remains to be collected in the eastern and southern portions of the county that were more severely impacted by Hurricane Ian.

Residents can track the progress on the county's Debris Cleanup Map.

The county expects the majority of residents to have debris picked up by the end of November, however, there may be some routes where operations continue into December.

Residents who don't want to wait for the debris to be collected can take their yard debris to one of the county's four residential storm debris drop-off sites from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

After Saturday, Nov. 19, the sites will close and normal yard waste facility locations and hours will resume.

The county’s four residential storm debris drop-off sites are located at:

• Northwest County, 8001 W. Linebaugh Ave., Tampa.
• South County, 13000 U.S. 41, Gibsonton.
• Hillsborough Heights, 6209 County Road 579, Seffner.
• Falkenburg Yard Waste Site, 350 Falkenburg Road, Tampa.

Residents must show a valid Florida ID to receive free yard waste disposal. Like in the city, bagged waste must be emptied by the resident for disposal because plastic bags can damage mulch-processing equipment.

For those still waiting for waste to be picked up, vegetative debris must be placed at the curb. Piles of leaves and small twigs must be bagged or placed in containers to be collected curbside by the regular waste haulers.

The county will not enter private property to remove debris.

If a contracted disaster debris hauler has already collected storm debris at your residence, do not place additional yard waste at the curb unless it meets standard yard waste size and set-out rules for collection by your weekly garbage service provider.

Private gated community leaders must fill out the Right of Entry and Hold Harmless Agreement form for the county to seek federal funding assistance for the cost of serving private communities.

Commercial businesses and landscapers can take yard waste to the county’s two yard waste processing sites at 8001 W. Linebaugh Ave., Tampa, and 13000 U.S. 41, Gibsonton.

As of Oct. 1, the new per-ton disposal fee for Hillsborough County is $44.55.

Residents are reminded that open burning of residential yard waste and household garbage or trash is prohibited in Hillsborough County and that discarding debris in public rights of way is considered illegal dumping.

For more information, contact the Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management at 813-272-5680 or click here.