SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Hurricane Ian tore through southwest Florida and left a massive clean-up job.
Sarasota County waste management announced Thursday that they have collected enough vegetative storm debris to fill more than 322 Olympic-sized pools from unincorporated areas.
"Our contractors continue to operate seven days a week and are collecting approximately 60,000 cubic areas of vegetative debris each day," Sarasota Solid Waste Coordinator Wendi Crisp said during the news conference.
Waste management officials wrote in a news release that a massive collection has been done in less than 20 days.
"After Hurricane Ian, vegetative debris was estimated to be five times more than the debris from Hurricane Irma," the release reads."The county began vegetative debris collection on Oct. 6 and in eight days surpassed the 300,000 cubic yards of vegetative debris collected over four months following Hurricane Irma."
Debris collection vehicles pick up different types of debris from residences on different days.
Check the status of your collection zones here.
Two free public drop-off sites remain available for residents to self-haul and self-unload vegetative storm debris from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily:
- Rothenbach Park, 8650 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota.
- Jackson Road Transfer Station, 250 S. Jackson Road, Venice.
More information about collection services can be found here.
Watch the full news conference below