Are You Ready?

Important Hurricane Information And Guidelines For Unincorporated Palm Beach County Curbside Collection Residents

The Solid Waste Authority (SWA) has prepared the following list to help you get ready for hurricane season.

December Through April

All major cutting of vegetation (i.e., tree removal) should be completed long before June 1st, the beginning of hurricane season. Do all major cutting/tree removal from December 1st through April 30th. SWA arranges for removal of debris from routine yard maintenance throughout the year. If you are having trees removed or doing any other major cutting, be sure to have your contractor include the price of debris removal as part of their service. Debris from major cutting or tree removal will need to be transported to the SWA landfill or any SWA permitted facility. There is a fee for disposal.

• Arrange to cut back all trees and weak branches that could contact buildings.

• Have your foliage thinned so wind can flow freely through branches, decreasing the chance that trees/plants will be uprooted.

• Place vegetation material from routine maintenance (up to 6 cubic yards - equivalent to 3 standard size refrigerators) at the curb on your regular scheduled collection day and follow the 6/50 rule (i.e., each piece cannot exceed 50 lbs in weight or 6 ft in length).

• Containerize small pieces of vegetation such as pine needles, leaves, twigs, etc. in bags or cans that weigh less than 50 lbs when full and place at the curb on your scheduled day.

• Clean your yard of any items that could pose a danger to you or your neighbors in hurricane force winds such as old lumber, broken lawn furniture, etc. and place curbside on your bulk waste collection day.

What We Will Do Following A Storm

• Please be patient.

• Keep household garbage, recycling and vegetative and/or construction storm debris in separate piles.

• SWA's number one priority is the collection of household garbage.

• Securely containerize all household garbage in plastic bags or cans to be placed curbside on your scheduled day.

• Don't place any debris near or on a fence, mailbox, powerline equipment, poles, transformers, downed electrical wiring, water meters, fire hydrants or storm drains.

• Be prepared to repair possible damage to swale areas from the specialized equipment used to collect storm debris.

• Contact SWA Customer Information Services at 697-2700 or 1-866-792-4636 (toll-free) or visit www.swa.org for updates on your collection services.

We ask all residents of the unincorporated County to be our partners in restoring the county to its pre-storm state. Your cooperation and support enables us to complete the entire process in the quickest, safest and most efficient manner possible. We will provide regular updates on the progress of debris collection.

Once a major storm has passed, the SWA's response plan includes the following tasks:

• Re-establishing normal household garbage and food waste collection is our first priority.
• It may be 3-6 weeks before the first collection of storm debris (vegetation and building material) is provided.
• Clean vegetation only will be collected on the first pass with construction debris and mixed loads (construction debris mixed with vegetation) on subsequent passes
• Please do not call and ask that trucks be pulled from scheduled routes to pick up your own debris first. Deviation from carefully planned routes causes delays in the entire process and creates a burden to those with the greatest need.

There is no reimbursement provided to any individual resident or homeowner association who hires a private contractor to remove and dispose of storm related debris.

For additional information, contact SWA Customer Information Services at 697-2700 or 1-866-792-4636 (toll-free).

Thank you from your partners at the Solid Waste Authority!