SEMA News Release

As curbside debris pickups continue under the “Operation Recovery” program on Tuesday, Jan. 19, flood-affected residents in participating communities are reminded to separate debris by category and place the segregated debris into separate piles at the curb.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is collecting construction and demolition debris, household hazardous waste, paint, orphan containers (hazardous chemical containers swept away by flood water), electronic goods and white goods from residential curbsides. It is important that these waste types be separated at the curb to make for efficient pickup, recycling and proper disposal. Separating goods allow crews to cover more area each day and move toward completing the recovery.

This graphic shows how the different debris categories should be separated: http://sema.dps.mo.gov/docs/separate-flood-debris.pdf

Debris, including small items, should NOT be bagged, but placed in piles at the curb.

These photographs show how household hazardous waste and electronics items are handled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency once collected:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/missouridps/albums/72157663627748966

Curbside pickup of general debris under the “Operation Recovery” program is continuing in the St. Louis region on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Plans call for pickups in the following areas on Tuesday:

Franklin County: Pacific

Jefferson County: Kimmswick, Herculaneum and unincorporated area near Romaine Creek

St. Charles County: West Alton

St. Louis County: Florissant

Information about debris collection in other flood-affected communities of Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties that are participating in the Operation Recovery program is being released as available. Residents should continue to check http://www.mo.gov/flood-recovery for updates or check with their local jurisdiction for updates. The site is accessible at MO.gov.

If pickups progress ahead of schedule tomorrow, crews may be able to collect from additional communities tomorrow. Residents can be assured the crews will make more than one pass through each affected community, but the more debris that can be moved to the curb and separated into the categories listed above, the faster debris can be cleared from all affected areas.

Household trash or unwanted items that were not damaged in the flooding is NOT included in the debris removal program and will not be picked up. Household garbage should be kept away from flood debris where it can be picked up by regular trash haulers.

In other communities affected by flooding, debris is being picked up by city workers, regular trash haulers, contractors hired by the local government or volunteers. Please follow local guidance for special instructions in assisting and complying with these efforts.

Operation Recovery is a federal (FEMA) and state debris removal program being coordinated by the Missouri National Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as a result of a request for a federal emergency declaration by Gov. Jay Nixon on Jan. 2, and granted by President Barack Obama the same day.