City of Sarasota starts collecting yard debris from Hurricane Ian
The city of Sarasota will begin storm debris pickup on Wednesday, Oct. 5, a city press release announced.
Sarasota will not have specific scheduled days for storm debris collection, and the city encourages residents to place the material curbside as soon as possible.
Contractors for the city will pick up the debris. Standard yard waste rules are suspended for Hurricane Ian debris, and residents are instead asked to follow these rules:
Place vegetative debris at least five feet away from mailboxes, water meters, street signs, light poles, fire hydrants or any other ornamental structures. This will ensure that there is adequate room for heavy machinery to pick up debris.
Do not place debris in the street or on top of storm drains.
Do not mix household waste, bulk waste or recyclables with storm debris.
Do not bag vegetative storm debris or place in a container. Bagged debris will be picked up, but it may not occur during the first collection cycle. Bagged debris must be kept separate from the vegetative storm debris pile.
The city notes that all debris must be placed at the curb in the public right-of-way. Contractors will not enter onto private property to collect or remove debris, according to the city news release.
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The city is estimating that there is twice as much storm debris from Hurricane Ian than there was from Hurricane Irma, so the debris collection will take several months.
The city plans to provide further information as the hurricane recovery process continues.
Anne Snabes covers city and county government for the Herald-Tribune. You can contact her at asnabes@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @a_snabes.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: City of Sarasota to start collecting Hurricane Ian debris Wednesday
