Florida collection schedules shift in preparation for Hurricane Idalia’s landfall

Waste and recycling collection schedules have shifted in many areas of Florida as Hurricane Idalia bears down on the Big Bend region of the Gulf Coast.

Waste Pro USA, Longwood, Florida, which collects for the city of Tallahassee and Leon County as well as many other areas of the state, has closed its Leon County offices and facilities Aug. 30 and announced Aug. 30 collection in Leon County has been rescheduled for Sept. 2. The company manages about 2,000 collection routes in Florida.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, has announced there will be no trash, recycling or yard waste collections Aug. 30. There will be no collection makeup day and services will be provided on the next scheduled collection day. The county contracts with a variety of haulers.

In many areas of Florida, Waste Pro has announced suspended service for Aug. 30 with plans to resume service Aug. 31, weather permitting.

As of the morning of Aug. 30, Hurricane Idalia had strengthened to a Category 4 storm and was set to make landfall southeast of Tallahassee, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Collection services elsewhere also have been affected by Idalia, as well.

Cape Coral, on Florida’s east coast just west of Miami, has announced that Waste Pro’s service is still scheduled to take place Aug. 30, but that Waste Pro has asked residents to keep their collection bins inside or to otherwise secure them so that “garbage does not become a projectile” as strong winds arrive. The company also asked residents not to put out their bins until 7 a.m. Aug. 30. The Miami area is significantly southeast of the storm’s projected path, but even there Waste Pro is taking precautions.

In Gainesville and the north central area of the state, Aug. 30 collections have been canceled with plans to resume most services Aug. 31, weather permitting. However, Waste Pro says it will not collect yard waste in that area of the state this week.

In Sarasota, which lies directly in the path of the hurricane, Waste Pro says it collected yard waste Aug. 29, prior to the storm’s landfall.

The city of Wilmington, North Carolina, has announced its Aug. 31 waste collection service has been rescheduled to take place Aug. 30. The city also requests residents secure carts and any uncollected refuse before hurricane force winds arrive the evening of Aug. 30.

Hurricane Idalia is not Waste Pro’s first experience with hurricanes, nor will it be its last. The company also had to cope with Hurricane Ian last fall, which was among the worst to hit the state.

Waste Pro requires each of its locations to develop a disaster plan to protect its people and assets and to communicate clearly with customers about scheduling changes.

About five days ahead of a storm, Waste Pro Chief Operating Officer Keith Banasiak says Waste Pro’s corporate procurement director ensures the company has all equipment and supplies it might need following a storm. This director also brings several semitrailers full of supplies—such as generators, portable beds and gas cans—for employees and their families to use at a Waste Pro location near where a storm might hit.

“He’ll also make sure we’re on a direct line with the power company, so we know who the point of contact is,” Banasiak told Waste Today earlier this year. The company also takes pains to ensure it has means to communicate with its employees via text message in the event some communication services are unavailable.

Although the company has announced it hopes to resume services Aug. 31 when Hurricane Idalia should have passed out of the state, the company altered some of its services during the week following Hurricane Ian, delaying yard waste and recycling collection until waste collection and clean up were under control.