Those are the words of Crowder Gulf Regional Manager Barton Holmes and he was talking about the amount of debris that has already been removed from Fort Myers Beach following Hurricane Ian.
Holmes told the Fort Myers Beach Town Council that more than 1.1 million cubic yards of debris has been collected from the right of way (about 28,714 truck loads), over 55,000 pounds of dirty sand has been collected, with about 25,000 pounds of that sand cleaned and returned to the beach.
Holmes also said that 215 tons of household hazardous waste has been collected so far, including paint, propane tanks, lawn mowers and gas engines. Over 7,100 pieces of white goods were collected (air conditioners, refrigerators, etc.).
Back in October and November of 2022 Holmes said Crowder was hauling 25,000 to 28,000 cubic yards per day off the island using 37 trucks. This week that number is down to 300 yards per day and it’s been that way now for about 45 days.
Holmes also made some news Monday when he told the council residents can still push debris to the side of the road to be picked up (side streets, not Estero Boulevard). Barton did not have a hard end date for when the pickup of the debris on Fort Myers Beach will end.