FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Piles of debris are no longer allowed on curbs on Fort Myers Beach. Starting tomorrow, the town’s residents could face code violations if they have their hurricane trash on the side of the road. 

The town said nearly 30,000 loads of debris have been removed since Hurricane Ian. Now it’s up to property owners to take care of their own debris or hire a company to haul it out. Some aren’t ready for the state’s curbside removal program to end.

“Obviously if you look around, there’s a lot of people still waiting to get their permits…and deciding whether or not they want to put their house back together,” said Jon Snyder, a resident rebuilding his home on Fort Myers Beach. “In terms of proceeding with remodeling, we have to wait for those permits. A lot of us will be hauling stuff away in the future at our cost to the dumpster.”

Others are tired of looking at the destruction on the beach and worry about the property owners taking charge of the cleanup.

“If they stop then what’s going to happen? If they didn’t do it by now, you know they’re not going to do it…,” said Carl Castlegrant, another Fort Myers Beach resident. “You don’t know what each person’s problem is — whether it’s insurance or they just don’t have money…” 

The town said they are forced to issue code violations if property owners do not get debris taken care of soon. The deadline does not include properties that are already signed up through the state’s emergency management program for debris removal on personal property. 

Property owners can still put small amounts of debris in trash cans to get picked up on trash day.