© 2026 WGCU News
News for all of Southwest Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Lehigh Acres, Gateway residents urged to move Hurricane Ian debris to curb by Dec. 16 deadline

Braun, Michael

Lee County Solid Waste asks residents of Lehigh Acres and Gateway to set all Hurricane Ian debris curbside by Friday, Dec. 16. This deadline allows county staff to better assess remaining needs for debris removal in those areas.

Residents of other areas in unincorporated Lee County do not have a deadline for debris set out. The county’s debris-hauling contractor will continue collections.

“Lehigh Acres and the Gateway community represent a large portion of eastern Lee County,” Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said. “While we recognize areas that received catastrophic storm surge will require a much longer recovery period, it is our goal to return as much of the county to pre-storm conditions as soon as possible.”

As of today, 65 days after collection began, roughly 4.4 million cubic yards of debris has been collected in unincorporated Lee County. That amount required 90,813 truckloads to move. The hauler currently has 114 specialized trucks collecting debris curbside while 64 tractor-trailers work to move debris to final disposal locations.

Residents can track debris collection progress at the county’s debris removal information dashboard, learn how to stack debris and gather other Hurricane Ian debris information at www.leegov.com/storm/debris.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.

Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU