Disaster Debris Management

We plan for the disposal of large quantities of debris resulting from natural disasters by assuring that contingency contracts are in place and that the Disaster Solid Waste Plan is up-to-date.  Although the County's Disaster Solid Waste Plan (PDF) has only been activated two times, the value of disaster debris planning became evident after Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Isabel generated large volumes of storm debris.

Disposal Sites

In addition to being an unanticipated expense to the County, large volumes of storm debris can overwhelm convenience centers, causing them to be nearly impassable from the overflowing debris, and making the delivery of non-storm-related household waste difficult.  For these reasons delivery of storm debris, particularly arboreal debris such as tree limbs, is restricted to the landfill and the Guinea Road site when the Plan is activated.

Citizen Role

Also when the Plan is activated, citizens are asked to document that they are bringing in storm debris for disposal. Without the documentation that the storm debris was from private citizens and not from commercial haulers, the County would not be able to request potential reimbursement from FEMA for the County's storm debris disposal costs.