Hurricane Irma: Manatee Issues Debris Collection Guidelines

BRADENTON, FL – Manatee County is calling out to all residents in non-incorporated areas to prepare for disposing Hurricane Irma-related debris.

On Wednesday, Manatee County Utilities Department issued guidelines for homeowners who want to dispose of their storm-related debris.

Contractors will be out in force this week to access the volume of debris and determine what resources are needed for pickup. The Utilities Department would like residents to place all storm-related debris at their curb to comply with FEMA regulations. After the contractors assess the debris volume, Utilities can set a timeline needed to collect it all.

Residents will not need to call Manatee County to request curbside pickup, but to ensure pickup are asked to sort storm-related debris as follows:

• Yard waste (limbs, brush, trees, etc.) does not need to be bundled. Leaves should be in a container or bagged for collection.
• White goods (large appliances like refrigerators and freezers) should be emptied before placed at the curb. Spoiled contents should be placed in the regular garbage for pickup.
• Construction and debris materials (metal awnings, roofing, drywall, carpet and lumber) should be place in a separate pile.

Watch: Hurricane Irma's Destructive Journey By The Numbers

As a last resort, residents can take storm debris to the Lena Road Landfill, 3333 Lena Road in Bradenton, where disposal will be subject to standard tipping fee rates, which are available at www.mymanatee.org/utilities.

Typical household garbage (trash, cups, food scraps, ect.) should be disposed of as usual. Garbage will be collected on a normal schedule staring Monday, Sept. 18. Regular yard waste collections have been suspended until the vegetative storm debris has been collected.

For the remainder of the week, the collection schedules are:

• Residents with Tuesday/Friday collection will have their trash collected on normal days
• Residents with Monday/Thursday collection on Wednesday and Thursday
• Recycling collection has been suspended this week and will resume next week.

County officials recommend that residents keep sandbags stored for the next time they’re needed. Residents who choose to dispose of sandbags should be placed alongside household garbage and will be removed when normal collection resumes next week.

For more information on debris-related questions, visit www.mymanatee.org/garbage or call Manatee County Utilities Customer Service at (941) 792-8811.

Image via Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page