The last chance for Hernando County residents to have their Hurricane debris piles picked up is January 20.
Hernando County PIO Dominique Holmes said the debris cleanup process began right after Hurricane Helene, which caused a lot of damage in Hernando Beach. Then, about 13 days later, Hurricane Milton swept through Florida, causing even more damage.
“The total between two storms, there was quite a bit (of debris,)” said Holmes. “There’s a lot of debris on the West side after Helene. And there was definitely after Milton. But Milton, you saw a lot more debris countywide.”
So far, in Hernando County, 538,532 cubic yards of debris have been collected, which is enough debris to fill about 200 Olympic swimming pools.
Holmes said debris collectors are supposed to begin their last pass on January 20, and by then, all debris should be picked up. The pass will cover all areas of the county from east of US 19 to any areas that may have been missed west of US 19.
Bill Gaston, owner of Gaston Tree Debris Recycling, one of the contractors picking up debris in Hernando County, said he began the debris cleanup process around the beginning of October.
“They’re giddy upping,” Gaston said. “Doing it as fast as they can.”
Clearing roads to the hospital becomes a top priority following a hurricane. Gaston said the goal for the rest of the city is to deploy trucks to every zone. Heavily impacted areas may have two or three trucks assigned, while lighter-hit zones might only need one.
After Hurricane Helene, a lot of construction and demolition waste (c&d) was collected because of the storm surge that hit Hernando Beach. However, after Hurricane Milton, most of the debris picked up was vegetative.
The first steps Gaston took after the hurricane hit was to clear roads to ensure access to schools, hospitals and police stations. Once access was restored, residents began bringing debris to the curb for Gaston and his team to collect. The debris pick-up is broken down into zones, which the project manager determines.
“We go from zone to zone, and when the zones are cleaned up, we move to the next one,” Gaston said. “So, we will just keep moving into the zones until it’s all cleaned up.”
Holmes notes, “If you feel your debris has been missed, please feel free to call the Debris Hotline at 833-307-5580.
“The Contractor will pick up missed debris based on reports and to remove debris at multiple locations. Your debris may not be picked up for several days after contacting the hotline due to location of debris.”
