Hurricane debris drop-off locations in SWFL

Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
Hurricane debris outside a Cape Coral home. Credit: WINK News

When a hurricane strikes the Southwest Florida area, debris is often left in its wake, which is an eyesore and clogs up properties.

To aid in recovery efforts, local counties ask residents to separate their normal garbage from hurricane debris.

In Lee County, residents have several debris disposal locations where they can drop off their rubbish.

  • 5031 Pine Island Road, Bokeelia, FL 33922
  • 50 South Road, Fort Myers, FL 33907
  • 18078 Cypress Point Road, San Carlos Park, FL 33967
  • 13801 Orange River Blvd., Buckingham, FL 33905

The four locations have been open since Monday, operating from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

The county advises residents that only storm debris will be accepted, and they must be prepared to unload their vehicles themselves.

No more than five cubic yards of debris may be dropped off at a time.

For Lee County commercial businesses, owners are encouraged to take their storm debris to the Waste-to-Energy Facility at 10500 Buckingham Road. They will be charged by weight. The facility will be open regular hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Landscaping companies hauling vegetative storm debris cleared from residential properties will need a signed declaration from the resident indicating the address where the debris was generated. No debris will be accepted without a signed declaration.

According to Lee County Solid Waste, garbage collection for all routes in Lee County franchise areas that are accessible to collection trucks resumed on Monday.

Residents can drop off household hazardous waste free of charge at the Household Chemical Waste and Electronic Recycling Center, located at 6441 Topaz Court, Fort Myers.

Two debris location sites opened in Cape Coral on Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ID is required.

The locations are 1821 SW 42nd St., at the entrance off of Southwest 19th Avenue and 1119 Northwest 31st Avenue, at the entrance off of Northwest 28th Place.

In Charlotte County, Three temporary drop-off locations for storm debris are now open for residential drop-off only. No contractors or businesses are allowed to dispose of debris at the following locations:

  • Mid-County Mini-Transfer & Recycling Facility, 19765 Kenilworth Blvd., Port Charlotte
  • West Charlotte Mini-Transfer & Recycling Facility, 7070 Environmental Way, Englewood
  • Charlotte County Landfill, 29751 Zemel Road, Punta Gorda

The first two listed locations run from 9 a.m. to gates closing at 4:45 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

The Charlotte County Landfill is a special drop-off location, open from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Until further notice, the drop-off sites are unlimited regarding the number of visits and amount of material dropped off.

To utilize the county’s free service, residents must present the following before disposing of their hurricane debris.

  • Proof of county residency is required. Residents need to bring a valid form of identification to include name, photo and local address. Photo identification from other areas must be accompanied by a current utility bill or document showing proof of residency at a Charlotte County residential address. P.O. Box addresses are not accepted as proof of residency.
  • Trailers cannot exceed 12 feet in length.
  • Just storm debris: no perishable waste, such as household garbage, no yard trimmings in bags.
  • Residential only — no business or commercial use.




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