Longboat Key free of Irma waste

It's finally gone.

The 12,840.3 cubic yards of plant debris blown around Longboat Key in the wake of Hurricane Irma, that is, according to a town announcement Oct. 26.

It took the town and the Florida Department of Transportation 23 days to get the waste off the island.

"In an ideal world, we would have liked to have trucks on the ground a day [after the storm]," Public Works Director Isaac Brownman said. "But everyone was vying for the same resources."

This doesn’t mean the cleanup is over. The town and its contractors had identified waste caused by the storm before beginning clean up. They then consolidated the predetermined debris and, once they had cleared it all, considered the project finished, Brownman said.

The town is asking that anyone with leftover yard debris dispose of it on Wednesday mornings with regular garbage pickup.

"Maybe people didn’t get it in time, but we can’t keep our contractors indefinitely," Brownman said.

Any plant material left for Waste Management must be put in 32 gallon cans, yard waste bags or bundled and tied with twine strong enough to support the bundles, which can be no longer than 4 feet in length, no wider than 16 inches in diameter and no heavier than 40 pounds.

Residents who want special collection services for larger vegetative debris can call Waste Management at (941) 753-7591.

This story was updated at 9:50 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30.