FOUR COMMUNITY CLEANUPS IN LOWER KEYS COLLECT MORE THAN 118,000 POUNDS OF HURRICANE DEBRIS WITH SUPPORT FROM MONROE COUNTY SOLID WASTE CREWS

LOWER KEYS, FL — Monroe County is providing public works’ support to groups that are holding community hurricane debris cleanups by land and water. Over the past weekend, four community cleanups were held in the Lower Keys. Volunteers collected an incredible amount – more than 118,000 pounds of debris.

For a Feb. 24 marine cleanup on Big Pine Key, the County provided the Big Pine Key Community Park as a staging and assembly area for the Conch Republic Marine Army. The County also provided clam trucks and County crews from the Solid Waste Department.

The volunteers in that cleanup collected 73,920 pounds that was transported by County crews to a County transfer station, from where it will be hauled to a proper disposal site on the mainland.

The County is waiving disposal fees for community hurricane debris cleanups.

Solid Waste crews also loaded and transported 28,940 pounds of debris collected by volunteers during a cleanup on Long Beach Road on Big Pine Key – and another 15,900 pounds of debris collected by volunteers during a Crane Boulevard cleanup on Sugarloaf Key.

Solid Waste crews have not yet loaded debris collected from the community cleanup in Port Pine Heights on Big Pine Key. “But we will get to it soon,” Basham said.

If you are planning a community cleanup in unincorporated Monroe County and need Monroe County public works’ support for pickup of the collected debris or disposal at a County transfer station, please contact Monroe County Solid Waste at least a week in advance of the cleanup at 305-292-4536 to schedule.

Monroe County is proud of the community’s willingness and self-help attitude to support the Keys’ recovery and help clean up our precious environment.