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Fiona tree debris not picked up yet? Here's what Island crews are doing

The province says crews will return as many times as necessary to pick up homeowners' roadside tree debris piles.

Contractors will swing back to get more debris in the weeks ahead, province says

Carolyn Ryan · CBC News ·
Pile of small logs and brush by a Charlottetown sidewalk.
The City of Charlottetown has been asking residents to pile Fiona tree debris in neat piles, not obstructing sidewalks, and make sure logs are no more than four feet long. Adding construction debris may cause crews to skip your pile. (Kevin Yarr/CBC)

Broken branches and tree trunks have been popping up like dandelions along P.E.I. roadsides this spring, as homeowners resume clearing their yards of debris from post-tropical storm Fiona. 

Meanwhile, provincial contractors are busy hauling them away according to Stephen Szwarc, director of highway maintenance at the Department of Transportation.

"We have approximately 15 contractors going across the province and they're just doing their rounds and we're picking up as needed," he said Friday, with just three weeks to go before the June 30 deadline for people to put the waste out.

Szwarc's team handles everything outside the boundaries of Charlottetown and Summerside, which have their own collection programs in place.

He estimated about tree pickup crews have passed by 90 per cent of roadsides in Prince County, and about 50 per cent in Kings and Queens counties. 

'There's a lot on our plate'

But a cleared roadside doesn't stay cleared for long. 

"After a weekend, the roads will be filled in again, or the sides of the road, so we have to go back," Szwarc said, adding that staff are doing rounds to monitor where new piles of brush and branches are showing up. 

Bearded man in fleece jacket stands in front of a provincial map.
Stephen Szwarc, the director of highway maintenance for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, says it's 'amazing' how much debris Islanders have been putting out by their driveways for provincial contractors to pick up. (Tony Davis/CBC)

"Once they see that there's some debris and there's enough for a full truckload or to make a run, then they'll send a contractor."

Verges that have a large amount of debris piled in a way that poses a safety risk get attention first. Nevertheless, contractors will return as many times as they have to in order to get the job done, Szwarc said.

After June 30, branches on the roadsides will still get picked up, but homeowners will be told to haul their debris to one of the 16 provincial debris sites. 

This map on the provincial website shows the public debris dropoff sites that were set up after post-tropical storm Fiona swept through in September.
This map on the provincial website shows the public debris dropoff sites that were set up after post-tropical storm Fiona swept through in September. (Government of P.E.I.)

The province has 41 other tree disposal sites for its contractors.

Some of the brush has been buried on site. Plans for the eventual removal of the rest of the debris are in the works.

"It's amazing just how much is out there and just how much is being trucked to our debris sites." Szwarc said. 

"There's a lot on our plate, and we're asking Islanders to be patient with our maintenance program, knowing that it is taking us some time. But we are making some good headway."

With files from Angela Walker

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