Cape Coral neighborhood growing frustrated over debris piles

Piles of trash and debris are blowing through a Cape Coral neighborhood, getting close to nearby canals and burrowing owl burrows.

People who live there blame the city and want them to fix it immediately.

• RELATED: Cape neighbors frustrated by clean up wait

Neighbors said the city of Cape Coral set it up as a debris drop-off site after the recent hurricanes.

“There were two piles here, one from yard waste and one from construction debris,” said Ken Nichols.

Neighbors understand why the patch of land needed to be used as a debris drop-off site after Milton and Ian before that. Some told WINK they even used it to dispose of debris themselves.

“Kind of a necessary evil,” said Nichols. “Nobody wants it in their backyard, but we had it.”

But now, it’s been three months, and the fence that kept all the debris in was taken down Wednesday.

“The bulk of it (the debris) was removed. But they left the about a foot high of lightweight stuff, and a lot of it’s styrofoam and plastics,” said Nichols.

Another resident Carol Anger said that the trash is now drifting to nearby homes and not just the human-kind.

“All the debris is going into the burrowing owls’ nests,” said Anger. “And not only that, there’s canals on all the sides over here, and we have manatees in there, we have turtles in there, we have fish in there.”

“We’re one big wind away from ecological disaster here,” added Nichols.

Dave Herzig lives by the debris pile, and he said that something needs to change.

“Nothing’s contained, and everything is going around the neighborhood,” said Herzig. “And so we just need to get this thing cleaned up.”

WINK News reporter Amy Galo reached out to the City of Cape Coral to ask what was being done about the debris.

A spokesperson shared the following statement on the debris piles:

The contractor will begin site cleanup activities tomorrow (1/4/25) and the City’s Solid Waste Inspectors will monitor this effort to ensure the litter is removed and the site is restored.

The City opened two Hurricane Debris drop-off sites following Hurricane Milton, 1821 SW 42nd St. and 1119 NW 31st Ave, which have both closed as planned. The City’s Bulk Waste Drop-Off Site, 1200 Kismet Parkway, remains open Tuesday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.