Ian debris being collected after complaints on San Carlos Island

Piles of trash that lined the streets on San Carlos Island are being picked up more than a month after Hurricane Ian.

Last week, WINK News showed you the trash bags, belongings, and debris scattered along the roadways.

San Carlos’ trash will hopefully be a thing of the past soon, but not without some roadblocks. The homeowner’s association missed a crucial step in the debris pickup permitting process, and they say it’s because they had no idea it was even a thing.

Now they’re calling for better communication on these issues before a storm hits, not after.

Scott Rood was picking up the pieces of his life, “I said the guy from WINK News was down here, they saw it on TV, and they knew it was a problem. Why didn’t they solve the problem?”

No one was picking up his trash. “Now, they’re getting all of our trash out of here,” said Rood.

Until Wednesday, Rood says a miscommunication led to debris sitting on the curb for over a month.

It wasn’t until the WINK News story aired last week that crews began showing up. The question is, why did it take so long for debris to be picked up?

“Well, they didn’t know because nobody signed the right of entry form,” said Rood.

The homeowner’s association for the neighborhood confirmed that they never signed a required right of entry form that would have allowed cleanup crews to take debris from the street. They say they didn’t know about the form before the storm hit.

“Why didn’t somebody call the guy on the street and say, hey, if you guys sign right of entry form, we can come down and get all your trash removed?” asked Rood.

Carla Pine doesn’t care why it wasn’t being picked up. All that matters is that the trash is now being picked up.

“Holy bleep! People care. And I thought, ‘Somebody listened,'” said Pine.

When the debris cleanup begins, the healing process can finally begin.

“I can start to heal. And I can actually look through and see my house and not have to smell it,” said Pine.

This cleanup will be a long and multifaceted process.