ORANGE COUNTY , Fla. — It’s been a little over a month since Central Florida saw heavy rainfall and damaging winds during Hurricane Milton, and now residents in Orange County are just sitting and waiting for piles of debris to be picked up.
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“Literally, every home in this neighborhood, Wingrove Estates, has got a bundle of debris that’s just been sitting out front,” said Mitch Frank, Orange County Resident.
Frank reached out to Channel 9 after realizing that no moves had been made in his neighborhood to collect the storm debris.
“There truly was an unavialability in which case I would have really appriciated getting something in the mail telling me,” said Frank.
Frank said after speaking to the county, he was told that there were only two contractors working to collect in the county and that 15% of the county had been collected.
According to Orange County, as of November 5th, 34,000 cubic yards of storm debris has been picked up.
Via social media, the county said debris pick-up is six days a week from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm.
“I mean, for you to even think that it would take that long, that’s heartbreaking in a sense because, you know, stuff like this should be done at a moment’s notice or as soon as it can be done,” said Frank.
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The county’s interactive map shows a large portion of the county still in t the process of being picked up.
Orange County said if your debris is small, you can follow the solid waste guidelines for regular yard waste, and they will pick it up.
“Even if things don’t change, I don’t have great faith that they will get it done by christmas,” said Frank.
As curbside debris recovery continues, Osceola County offers free yard waste drop-off sites for residents to dispose of their hurricane debris.
3511 Pug Mill Rd, Kissimmee, FL 34741
Open this weekend, Saturday, November 16th – Sunday, November 17th, 2024.
Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
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Rules for disposal
Vegetative debris only
Must have valid county ID
NO fresh green yard waste – fresh cut debris will NOT be accepted
Absolutely no business or commercial vehicles
In the meantime, officials ask for patience, as the pick-up takes longer than expected.
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