Hurricane Irma debris cleanup nears completion

The last piles of Hurricane Irma storm debris are being collected in South Florida following three months of cleanup, the Sun Sentinel reports.

The hurricane struck South Florida Sept. 10. In its wake, debris removal crews have been working overtime to rid the area of the rotting, piled up debris.

Miami-Dade County expects to have its collection efforts completed within 10 days, and the city of Hollywood, Florida, reportedly will finish picking up debris even sooner. A number of other Florida municipalities have recently finished their cleanup efforts. Collectively, the cost of South Florida’s debris removal efforts are expected to approach $200 million.

Miami-Dade County Solid Waste Management collected an estimated 4 million cubic yards of debris at a cost of $179 million as part of the recovery. The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County reportedly collected 3 million cubic yards of waste at a total cost of $20 million. Fort Lauderdale collected 450,000 cubic yards of debris at an estimated cost of $10 million and Pompano Beach hauled roughly 200,000 cubic yards of debris for a total of $3.5 million.

The majority of the debris was converted into mulch, while some of the uncontaminated organic material was burned.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spokesperson John Mills says the organization will reimburse local governments for 90 percent of the collection costs for the first 30 days following the storm and 75 percent for debris collected after this period. However, it could take months or years for these paybacks to be issued.