Bulloch storm debris could fill 83 Olympic-sized swimming pools

STATESBORO, Ga. (WSAV) — With the mass amounts of debris brought by Helene, Bulloch County is starting a pick-up program for residents outside the city limits of Statesboro.

"It's a big operation," said Public Works Director Dink Butler. "I don't even know how to grasp the enormity of the volume it's creating."

Officials estimate there are 250-300,000 cubic yards worth of debris littered throughout the county.

News 3 ran the numbers; that's enough yard debris to fill up 83 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Stacked on top of a standard football field and end zones, the pile could reach over 10 stories high, taller than any building in the city of Statesboro.

Officials are asking residents to put whatever yard debris they have next to the right of way to be picked up.

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"We're pretty sure we're not going to get it all in the first pass," said Butler. "We'll be making more than one pass to gather all the debris."

The county has eight temporary collection sites spread across the county to improve travel times for those hauling the debris.

On site, a third-party monitor is calculating the volume of the debris to report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency who said they will pay for 100% of the cost if they get it done in 90 days.

"That's kind of questionable as to whether we'll get that or not. Even if we don't, we'll probably still get around 90% reimbursement," said Butler.

Butler said they've hired contractors to do the majority of the work, as county employees are stretched thin managing an overload of household waste that Butler credits to mass power outages.

"We're probably seeing something between a 30-40% increase from what we normally would see," said Butler.

Butler asked that you don't put any household waste or construction waste in your pile, as workers can only take your yard debris.