Addressing debris removal problem in Pinellas County

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Storm debris is piling up in areas hit hard by Hurricane Helene in Pinellas County as private haulers and residents are being turned away from county landfills.

Crews are struggling to transport the debris to county landfills.

Governor DeSantis is adamant the county needs to help Pinellas’ neighbors recover from Hurricane Helene.

“Getting that debris off helps bring life back,” said DeSantis.

The governor addressed the major issue in Pinellas County on Wednesday in Madeira Beach.

“We’re here to help,” said DeSantis. “We think it’s important and we’re willing to put resources to bear to get it done quickly.”

There is now pressure on county leaders to set up debris removal sorting sites from the Federal Emergency Management Executive Director.

“I told Kevin, to lean in on the debris removal,” said DeSantis. “He is doing that but a lot of these sites are likely going to be controlled by locals.”

8 On Your Side spoke with a private hauler at a county landfill in St. Petersburg who told us he believes the county is making it more difficult to help people.

“If there’s debris in the street, you can get it FEMA reimbursed, but if you’re in like a private community then it becomes more of an issue right? In terms of reimbursements,” said DeSantis.

Soon, there could be more than one avenue to remove debris in Pinellas.

DeSantis said inmates have come in post-disaster to help remove debris from both private and public properties.

“And we probably could do something here.”

You wouldn’t have to hand over a check to the low-risk prisoners and the problems could stop piling up in Pinellas.

The private hauler 8 On Your Side spoke with said he doesn’t understand why the county didn’t already have a plan in place before Hurricane Helene because this isn’t the first big storm.

He said he doesn’t understand what difference it will make to bring the debris straight to the landfill rather than a sorting site.

We reached out to the county for answers to these questions.

We’re told they’re working on getting debris removal sites open ASAP and they will be the ones to make the announcement.

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