PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is sorting through the confusion over debris pick-up in Palm Beach County following last week's tornadoes and tropical storm-force winds.
Homeowners are now getting orange tag notices telling them their piles of debris will not be picked up.
We sent WPTV reporter Michael Hoffman to western Palm Beach County to figure out what's going on.
When tornadoes cut through an area of The Acreage last Wednesday, it left behind substantial storm debris. It’s been a week of cleanup after an EF3 tornado ripped through Palm Beach County.
"We're a community and we have to help each other out," cleanup volunteer Christian Balough said.
Balough is volunteering his time hauling debris and adding to the piles that keep getting bigger.
The debris is much bigger than what the county typically allows people to put out at the curb. Countywide when it comes to the amount of debris, Paul Gonsalves with the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County said there's about 350,000 cubic yards.
"A quarter of that is out on the streets right now," Gonsalves said.
A lot of it can be found in piles along the street, but you may have noticed an orange tag.
"(The tags) are always used for piles that are over the 6 cubic yard limit," Gonsalves said. "Right now in the tornado-affected areas, we've asked the haulers to suspend the use of those tags."
He told Hoffman the tags mean your normal trash company can't pick up the piles, but that doesn't mean it'll stay there forever. Eventually, it will be picked up by contractors brought in for the storm debris, even if you still have the orange tag.
"The piles that were out there weren't eligible for the regular haulers to take," Gonsalves said. "It's caused a little bit of stir, residents thought that when they saw that tag it meant their piles were not going to be picked up, and that's not the case."
The Solid Waste Authority is asking for patience, a virtue that Balough said we need more of.
"You have to understand that it takes time to pick everything up," Balough said. "You know, it's not gonna happen overnight."
Now, Gonsalves tells WPTV that they will be expanding those teams to less-affected areas over the next couple of days, but it will be up to 90 days before we see all of the debris removed from in front of some homes.
The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County said residents should sort their debris into three separate piles:
- Vegetation like palm fronds or downed trees
- Construction debris like roofs
- Bulk items like refrigerators or other appliances
