Lee County to reopen landfill to get rid of Ian debris

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Lee County will reopen a landfill to accommodate storm debris. (CREDIT: WINK News)

The trash from Hurricane Ian is stacked up all over the roads.

And now an old landfill is reopening to handle the huge mess.

For about a month now, the people of Lee County have been begging for help when it comes to picking up debris.

The Lee County Board of Commissioners said they will use the Gulf Coast Landfill, which hasn’t been opened since 2007.

But because this is an emergency and unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.

But for some, the debris is not just trash.

“I mean, everything I collected photos of my family. I mean, it’s all there. And it’s depressing. And it’s sad. And it causes me to stress just to look at this every day,” said Carla Pine. “I think if they could get this out of our yards, I think a lot of us can begin to heal because it’s there’s some post-traumatic stress.”

Lee County will reopen a landfill to accommodate storm debris. (CREDIT: WINK News)

Because of this, the Board of Commissioners voted for relief and voted to open the landfill.

With the help of Waste Management, who owns the landfill, there is a better chance someone will come soon to collect the debris that is probably sitting in your front yard.

The landfill could be used for 18 to 24 months.

It’s the only space big enough to collect the innumerable amount of debris caused by Hurricane Ian.

The Board of County Commissioners hopes that collecting and picking up the pieces of your lives will be a crucial step in rebuilding Southwest Florida stronger than it was before.

Maximizing collections during the initial weeks post-landfall and the FEMA-reimbursement period is a major goal for county leaders.

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Waste Management and the county will hold several neighborhood meetings to answer residents’ questions.

The meetings are planned for Tuesday and Thursday as well Nov. 10.

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at 13240 Griffin Drive, Fort Myers, from 4 to 6 p.m. According to a press release, the locations for the Thursday and Nov. 10 meetings will be announced later.

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