On some streets, where leaves and branches blown down by聽Hurricane Irma聽have turned brown and brittle, it might not look like much progress has been made in the long slog to clear聽Palm Beach County of the estimated three million cubic yards聽 of vegetative debris left by the storm.
But based on numbers tracked for the county鈥檚 Solid Waste Authority, just under half of the debris generated by Irma has been cleared. About 1.4 million cubic yards of vegetative debris had been removed through Wednesday, according to the most recent report on the SWA鈥檚 web site.
SWA spokesman Willie Puz said the authority expects to have completed a first pass of debris collection in unincorporated parts of the county by the end of the week.
鈥淥ur emergency contractors will begin a second pass at this time,鈥� Puz said. 鈥淭o put this in context,聽Hurricanes Francis and Jeanne聽in 2004 generated approximately the same amount of debris and took 87 days for a first pass or pickup. Hurricane Wilma in 2005 again generated approximately the same amount of debris, and it took 68 days for a first pass. Hurricane Irma generated almost the same amount of debris, and we are only on day 29 and estimate the first pass will be completed for nearly all residents by (this) weekend.鈥�
Irma grazed Palm Beach County a month ago. Businesses and schools have long since reopened. Life has largely returned to normal 鈥� except for those hauling away debris.
鈥淒ebris collection crews have been working seven days a week for 12 hours a day to get our county back to normal,鈥� Puz said. 鈥淭hree million cubic yards of debris is the same amount of debris that the SWA would normally receive in two years. And our goal is to pick all this up in three months.鈥�
With storm debris still cluttering some streets, many in the county remain frustrated by the pace of debris removal. County Commissioner Steven Abrams has heard similar complaints from other frustrated residents. Like other county officials, he鈥檚 been preaching patience 鈥� and perspective.
鈥淚 welcome complaints about debris pickup or anything else,鈥� he wrote in a Facebook post. 鈥淭hat what I do! But I have a new rule: Before you approach me to bemoan the fact that the county didn鈥檛 provide you with ice, or it may take a couple more weeks to remove the vegetation on your street, text the word MARIA to 90999 and make a $10 donation to the Red Cross to aid those in true distress.鈥�
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