It’s been over three weeks since Hurricane Irma passed through the Tampa Bay Area, but many communities still have large piles of storm debris sitting out by the road.
The City of Tampa just created a new Vegetative Storm Debris Cleaning Plan, that shows the communities that have been serviced, the ones “in progress,” and the ones expected to be serviced next.
Click here to see the City of Tampa releases storm debris cleanup progress map
The increased transparency comes after mounting frustrations at the slow process, one also hampered by Tampa Bay Area communities being outbid for contractors by communities in South Florida.
More contractors have been hired across the Tampa Bay Area, but Hillsborough County’s Board of Commissioners plans to discuss ways to “expedite storm debris removal” and communication with residents in their weekly meeting this morning.
Countywide, the clean-up process is now expected to take until at least mid-November, after over a year’s worth of vegetative debris came down during the September storm.
There are things you can do to take matters into your own hands, including hauling debris to one of three Hillsborough County yard waste locations if you're a Hillsborough resident.
The yard waste locations are open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents must show a valid Florida driver's license to receive free yard waste disposal.
- Falkenburg Road - 346 N. Falkenburg Road in Tampa
- Northwest County - 8001 W. Linebaugh Ave. in Tampa
- South County - 13000 U.S. Highway 41 in Gibsonton
If you have more than just vegetative debris, you’ll need to apply for special help to remove it. More from Hillsborough County on that here: http://wfts.tv/2yXVLf5
