After Harvey and Irma, States Grapple with Millions of Tons of Garbage

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Three weeks after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, Texans who first endured storm-force winds followed by historic flooding now have another mountainous problem on their hands: millions of tons of garbage.

According to the latest estimates, nearly a half-billion dollars will be spent hauling away the trash – twisted, shattered and waterlogged remains of families’ former lives – to landfills.

Local, county and state officials in Texas quickly have mobilized procedures for debris removal, aiming to make President Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott’s pledges of revival a reality and not follow the example of New Orleans, where the slow-moving Hurricane Katrina response has resulted in blight that continues to this day.

Texas is hardly alone. Florida and other Gulf states, too, are now tasked with cleaning up not only from Harvey but Irma – and could face more destruction as storms continue to build in the Atlantic.

In one community, trash is not the most pressing problem in the short-term. Officials in the Florida Keys, where up to 15,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, have worked to get power, water and communications restored before any major debris removal can start. No cost or destruction data was available for the Keys or the state of Florida.

But other areas are moving to deal with the garbage next.

“We have an estimated 126,000 homes damaged by flooding or driving rains or tornados. Debris is all over town, generated by different types of elements,” said Harry Hayes, director of the Solid Waste Management Department for the city of Houston. “Our goal is to have 700-1,000 trucks on the road every day picking up debris. They are coming from all over the county, mostly we are looking at construction and demolition companies to come in and aid us.”

They will be hauling away an estimated 2 million tons of debris. Crews will traverse 640 square miles picking up drywall, carpeting, appliances, furniture and whatever else Houstonians place at the curb. The completion date goal is Dec. 31, Hayes said.

And the cost? $226 million, of which FEMA will reimburse 90 percent.

The Texas Department of Public Safety maintains an interactive spreadsheet where cities from the disaster zone enter a variety of hurricane-related costs so Abbott knows what he’s dealing with. Amounts increase daily. So far, estimates from cities and counties total more than $352 million in trash collection fees for 289,695 damaged or destroyed homes.

Courtesy: https://wasteadvantagemag.com