Prepare Your Yard Now for Hurricane Season

Boca Raton, FL – Though hurricane season is still a couple months away, preparing now can help minimize property damage and make our communities safer. The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (SWA) strongly encourages residents to implement a year-round yard maintenance program.

Major storms can leave behind incredible amounts of debris. For example, after Hurricane Irma, almost 3 million cubic yards of vegetative debris was collected. It took three months and cost more than $39 million to collect and dispose of it all.

Every property owner can help minimize the potential for vegetative debris by starting their hurricane trimming now. The SWA contract for unincorporated Palm Beach County residents allows them to place a maximum of six-cubic yards of yard waste at the curb each week for pick-up. Starting now allows plenty of time for yard waste to be safely removed so you aren’t stuck with it in the event of a storm. Hurricane season starts June 1, and once a storm threatens it’s too late to trim trees.

Here are some tips to ensure your yard is as prepared as possible:

• Cut back all trees and weak branches that could come into contact with buildings.
• Have foliage thinned so wind can flow freely through branches, decreasing the chance that trees or plants will be uprooted.
• Contain small pieces of vegetation, such as pine needles, leaves and twigs, in bags or cans that weigh less than 50 lbs. when full and place at the curb on your scheduled pick-up day.
• Clean your yard of any items that could pose a danger to you or your neighbors’ property in hurricane-force winds, such as old lumber, broken lawn furniture, etc. Unincorporated Palm Beach County residents can place these types of items (three per week) curbside on their bulk waste collection day (If you’re not sure what day that is, you can find it by entering your address on the My Pick-Up Days page). Please note that lumber must be placed into a container weighing no more than 50 lbs., and fence materials will not be collected in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
• Place yard waste from routine maintenance at the curb on your regularly scheduled collection day. Residents in unincorporated Palm Beach County may place a maximum of six cubic yards – equivalent to three standard size refrigerators – at the curb each week. (Vegetation cannot exceed six in. in diameter, six ft. in length or 50 lbs. in weight.)

NOTE: Unincorporated Palm Beach County residents who place more than the permitted six cubic yards of yard waste at the curb will have no portion of the waste removed. The pile will be tagged, and the resident will be responsible for removing all the material at their own cost.

Residents living within city, village or town limits should contact their local municipality for their collection guidelines. Check the SWA website for municipal contact information.

Whether you maintain your yard yourself or use a lawn care or landscape service, if you produce significant yard waste, consider requesting a price to remove the yard waste if it exceeds the six-cubic-yard limit. Excess debris from major cutting or tree removal will need to be properly transported and disposed of, and there is a fee for disposal.

The SWA offers hurricane information to help residents understand best practices for preparedness and what the SWA prioritizes after a storm passes. For additional information on debris collection in unincorporated parts of the county, contact SWA Customer Information Services at 561-697-2700 or 866-792-4636 (toll-free).

The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (SWA) is a local governmental agency that manages the municipal solid waste generated in Palm Beach County. The SWA owns and operates a fiscally and environmentally responsible integrated solid waste management system to serve the residents, businesses and visitors of the county.

Through this system, the SWA has:

• Achieved the highest recycling rate in the state for the past two years
• Operated two waste-to-energy facilities that consistently operate well below EPA standards for the past 36 years
• Recovered 1.3 million tons of metals that would otherwise be mined from virgin ores
• Eliminated the need for a new landfill until 2057

Learn more at swa.org. Find technical reports at swa.org/technicalreports.