Cleaning Up After the Storm

The City of Valdosta Public Works Department has all hands on deck to pick up the enormous amount of debris that was left behind by Tropical Storm Hermine on Sept. 1-2. City leadership is requesting the patience of citizens as it employs all resources for this daunting task of getting the city cleaned up as quickly and safely as possible.

More than 160 calls for fallen trees and large limbs were received by the department during and after the recent storm. With about 3,000-3,500 scheduled customer pickups daily, Public Works Director Richard Hardy said the overall cleanup could take several weeks to accomplish.

"We ask citizens for their patience as we utilize all of our resources in this endeavor of getting our city's yard debris—along with our regular household garbage and recyclables—picked up in a efficiently and timely manner," said Public Works Director Richard Hardy.

All three of the Public Works claw trucks—as well as one secured from the City of Douglas and one from Advanced Disposal—are being utilized this week during the extended 12-hour shifts. The city has also received support from the Georgia Department of Corrections with two work details assisting city personnel this week.

While the claw trucks will be used for the larger, heavier piles, Public Works will use its truck trailers to pick up the smaller piles located throughout the city. Citizens who observe the truck trailers pass their homes can be assured that the larger claw trucks will follow at a later time to pick up the bigger piles of debris.

"We appreciate citizens who diligently cleaned up their properties this holiday weekend," said Hardy. "Their efforts are encouraging, and they are instrumental in the overall city cleanup process. We also remind citizens who hire a private company to cut up trees and limbs that the contractor is responsible for removal and disposal of this debris."

Hardy provides the following reminders about preparing yard debris for pickup:

• Place this trash on the curb or city right-of-way (not in the street or gutter).
• Although yard trash is typically scheduled for pickup on the same day as your garbage collection, it may not be picked up on the same day for this event.
• Yard trash includes plant clippings, tree branches, grass clippings and leaves. Do not mix with garbage, litter or any other storm-related trash.
• Fallen trees and limbs left behind by the storm must be cut to the maximum length of limbs is 4 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter and cannot exceed 35 pounds.
• As a reminder, citizens who hire an individual or a company to cleanup, cut trees or limbs into the required size, or any other yard work are responsible by city ordinance to remove all yard debris and haul to the landfill themselves.

For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 229-259-3590.