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To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: <!-- /react-text --><a href="http://www.torontostarreprints.com/" data-reactid="54">www.TorontoStarReprints.com</a></p><!-- react-empty: 55 --><div data-reactid="56"><!-- react-empty: 57 --><!-- react-empty: 58 --></div><article class="article container-gutters " data-reactid="59"><meta itemprop="description" content="Ruined possessions line Houston streets as the city begins a ‘first pass’ of debris removal. Homeowners also have to deal with insurance companies — and trash looters." data-reactid="60"/><meta itemprop="articleSection" content="World" data-reactid="61"/><meta itemprop="thumbnailUrl" content="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg.size.custom.crop.93x70.jpg" data-reactid="62"/><meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2017-09-07" data-reactid="63"/><meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2017-09-08" data-reactid="64"/><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy.html" data-reactid="65"/><span itemprop="publisher" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" data-reactid="66"><span itemprop="logo" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" data-reactid="67"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.thestar.com/assets/img/thestar-logo.png" data-reactid="68"/><meta itemprop="width" content="277" data-reactid="69"/><meta itemprop="height" content="44" data-reactid="70"/></span><meta itemprop="name" content="Toronto Star" data-reactid="71"/><link itemprop="sameAs" href="https://www.thestar.com" data-reactid="72"/></span><div class="breadcrumb-header clearfix full-bleed" data-reactid="73"><div class="breadcrumb-header__gutter news" data-reactid="74"></div><div class="clearfix sticky-replace sticky-replace--narrow" data-sticky-replace="true" data-reactid="75"><div class="sticky-replace__body" data-reactid="76"><nav class="breadcrumb-header__nav" data-reactid="77"><ol class="clearfix" data-reactid="78"><li data-reactid="79"><span data-reactid="80"><span data-reactid="81"><a href="/news.html" data-reactid="82">News</a></span></span></li><li data-reactid="83"><span data-reactid="84"><span data-reactid="85"><a href="/news/world.html" data-reactid="86">World</a></span></span></li></ol></nav></div></div></div><div class="article__loader" data-reactid="87"><div class="small-12 inset columns center" data-reactid="88"><div class="row" data-reactid="89"><div data-reactid="90"><div class="show-for-small-only alpha__big-box " data-reactid="91"><div class="alpha__big-box__body" data-reactid="92"><div class="big-box banner-ad" data-reactid="93"><!-- react-empty: 94 --></div></div></div><header class="article__header" data-reactid="95"><h1 class=" article__headline" itemprop="headline" data-reactid="96">Hurricane Harvey cleanup anything but tidy</h1><div class="article__subheadline" data-reactid="97"><p data-reactid="98">Ruined possessions line Houston streets as the city begins a ‘first pass’ of debris removal. Homeowners also have to deal with insurance companies — and trash looters.</p></div></header></div></div><div class="hero" data-reactid="99"><figure data-reactid="100"><div class="youtube" data-reactid="101"><div class="youtube__body" data-reactid="102"><div id="star-video-mainart-0" data-reactid="103"></div></div></div></figure></div></div><div data-reactid="104"><div class="row" data-reactid="105"><div class="small-12 inset columns" data-reactid="106"><div class="article__body clearfix article-story-body" data-reactid="107"><div class="alpha alpha--big-box show-for-medium-up" data-reactid="108"><!-- react-empty: 109 --></div><div class="show-right-rail" data-reactid="110"><div class="article__meta" data-reactid="111"><div class="inset" data-reactid="112"><div class="article__byline" data-reactid="113"><span data-reactid="114">By </span><span class="article__author" data-reactid="115"><span data-reactid="116"><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" data-reactid="117"><span class="article__author-name" itemprop="name" data-reactid="118">Brian Melley And Paul J. Weber</span></span></span><span data-reactid="119"><span class="article__author-credit" data-reactid="120">The Associated Press</span></span></span></div><div class="article__published-date" data-reactid="121">Thu., Sept. 7, 2017</div></div><div class="clearfix share-toolbar " data-reactid="122"><div class="gutter-icon" data-reactid="123"><span class="staricon staricon-share" data-reactid="124"></span></div><div class="share-toolbar__body" data-reactid="125"><div class="clearfix sticky-replace sticky-replace--inset" data-sticky-replace="true" data-reactid="126"><div class="sticky-replace__body" data-reactid="127"><ul class="share-toolbar__primary clearfix" data-reactid="128"><li data-reactid="129"><a href="#" title="Share on Facebook" data-reactid="130"><span class="staricon staricon-facebook" data-reactid="131"></span></a></li><li data-reactid="132"><a href="#" title="Share on Twitter" data-reactid="133"><span class="staricon staricon-twitter" data-reactid="134"></span></a></li><li data-reactid="135"><a href="#" title="Share with email" data-reactid="136"><span class="staricon staricon-email-outlined" data-reactid="137"></span></a></li><li data-reactid="138"><a href="#" title="More share options" class="share-toolbar-more" data-reactid="139"><span class="staricon staricon-more-dots" data-reactid="140"></span></a></li></ul></div></div><!-- react-empty: 141 --></div></div></div></div><div data-reactid="142"><p>HOUSTON&#x2014;Roiling waters in the streets have given way to steaming piles of garbage on the curbs.</p><p>Hurricane Harvey&#x2019;s record-setting rains created heaps of ruined possessions that now line entire neighbourhoods, nearly up to the rooftops of the homes that were swamped. All that sodden drywall, flooring, furniture, clothing and toys adds up to an estimated 6.1 million cubic metres in Houston alone, enough to fill the Houston Texans&#x2019; stadium two times over.</p><p>Texas and city officials have pledged to make a priority of the monumental task of cleaning it up, though they stopped short of giving specific timelines, mindful that such cleanups have dragged on longer than anticipated after other major storms.</p><p>&#x201c;We want to get it removed as quickly as possible,&#x201d; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told reporters Thursday.</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p></div><div class="show-for-small-only alpha__big-box " data-reactid="143"><div class="article-continued" data-reactid="144"><div class="article-continued__heading" data-reactid="145">Article Continued Below</div></div><div class="alpha__big-box__body" data-reactid="146"><div class="big-box" data-reactid="147"><!-- react-empty: 148 --></div></div></div><div data-reactid="149"><p><a onContextMenu="theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)" onclick="theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/09/06/after-harvey-mould-monster-invades-texas-homes.html">After Harvey, mould &#x2018;monster&#x2019; invades Texas homes</a></p></div><figure class="image" data-reactid="150"><div class="image__body " data-reactid="151"><img src="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg.size.custom.crop.1086x722.jpg" alt="Some 200,000 homes along the Texas coast were damaged during hurricane Harvey. Now Houston residents such as Peggy Lanigan are cleaning out their homes." sizes="(min-width: 1086px) 1086px, 100vw" srcset="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg.size.custom.crop.320x212.jpg 320w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg.size.custom.crop.480x319.jpg 480w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg.size.custom.crop.640x425.jpg 640w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg.size.custom.crop.800x531.jpg 800w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg.size.custom.crop.1086x722.jpg 1086w" data-reactid="152"/></div><figcaption data-reactid="153"><!-- react-text: 154 -->Some 200,000 homes along the Texas coast were damaged during hurricane Harvey. Now Houston residents such as Peggy Lanigan are cleaning out their homes.<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit" data-reactid="155"><!-- react-text: 156 -->  (<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit__source" data-reactid="157"><!-- react-text: 158 -->Matt Rourke<!-- /react-text --><span data-reactid="159"> / </span><!-- react-text: 160 -->The Associated Press<!-- /react-text --></span><!-- react-text: 161 -->)<!-- /react-text --></span></figcaption></figure><div data-reactid="162"><p><a onContextMenu="theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)" onclick="theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/09/07/most-of-floridas-high-risk-flood-zones-not-insured-as-hurricane-irma-approaches.html">More than 500,000 ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Irma bears down on South Florida</a></p><p><a onContextMenu="theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)" onclick="theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/09/04/hurricane-harvey-shows-that-if-disaster-strikes-well-be-stuck-hume.html">Hurricane Harvey shows that if disaster strikes, we&#x2019;ll be stuck: Hume</a></p></div><!-- react-empty: 163 --><div data-reactid="164"><p>For now, the piles big and small have become evidence, of sorts, of the losses from more than 200,000 damaged homes up and down the Texas coast.</p><p>Not only are the heaps eyesores, but they are starting to give off a musty funk. And the longer they sit, officials warn, they could become havens for mould, not to mention snakes, rats, skunks and other critters. The junk could also turn into projectiles if, heaven forbid, another hurricane strikes.</p><p>&#x201c;I just can&#x2019;t stand it anymore,&#x201d; said Peggy Lanigan, who took a break from clearing out her Houston home that flooded for the first time in 22 years.</p><p>The city is pushing to complete a &#x201c;first pass&#x201d; of debris removal within 30 days, said Derek Mebane, deputy assistant director of Houston&#x2019;s solid waste department. He said collecting subsequent piles could take months and warned that if Hurricane Irma causes extensive damage in Florida, the cleanup in Houston could be slowed if resources are diverted. While local crews do the pickups, FEMA covers 90 per cent of the costs.</p><p>As it stands now, clearing even just one Houston street can take days. Some piles are so massive that a single stack of debris from one home can fill an entire truck.</p><p>Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner this week pleaded for help, asking for anyone with heavy equipment suitable for debris removal to reach out.</p><p>The trash will go into the city&#x2019;s existing landfills. San Antonio trucks have been sent in as part of an agreement between the two cities to help each other in disasters, the mayor said.</p><p>Soon after the storm hit, state officials suspended some environmental rules on waste removal that they said could impede the pace of disaster recovery, which raised concerns among environmentalists.</p><p>Trash looters are another concern. Some homeowners spray-painted messages on mattresses to leave them alone because the debris is needed for insurance claims. Others posted signs saying they were just drying out items they intended to save.</p><p>Mike Martinez said a king-sized mattress that had been floating in his bedroom days earlier was taken from his yard along with a La-Z-Boy sectional couch. The $5,000 (U.S.) sofa still looked brand new after the flood but was like a sponge if you sat on it. He couldn&#x2019;t understand why anyone would take it because it&#x2019;s contaminated with floodwater and probably mould.</p><p>&#x201c;It was like a parade of people going by looking at the devastation,&#x201d; Martinez said. &#x201c;Then there was a parade of people picking up the garbage.&#x201d;</p><p>Overturned sofas, listing mattresses and toppled chairs dominate the rubble while smaller, more intimate items hide in the cracks.</p><p>The piles also created a sort of archeological record of the households from which they came. There&#x2019;s a mouldering red cooler, a beat-up blue kiddie pool, a pornography stash spilling onto the street. Brand-new golf balls, a full jar of mangoes and a twisted artificial Christmas tree. A book titled <em>The Inheritance of Loss</em> seemed particularly poignant.</p><p>Sherri Blatt&#x2019;s main concern is that it could be a long wait before the mess is carted away. &#x201c;This is too long,&#x201d; she said. &#x201c;Once all the stuff is gone, I&#x2019;ll feel safe.&#x201d;</p><p>Almost on cue, a garbage truck rumbled around the corner. 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window.theStarPreloadedJson=[["feed:",{"mainart":{"duration":"","fullWindowYoutube":false,"uploadDate":"","thumbnailSize":"","description":"","youtubeid":"P01ZDOXERis","type":"youtube","title":"","thumbnailUrl":"","thumbnailurl":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg","fullWindowMainart":false},"keywords":["ng:w/o/r/world","oc:socialtag/h/u/r/hurricane_harvey","ng:h/u/r/hurricane_harvey","oc:socialtag/a/t/l/atlantic_hurricane_season","oc:entities/city/h/o/u/houston","oc:socialtag/m/e/x/mexico"],"TorstarTags":["15"],"publisheddate":"Thu., Sept. 7, 2017","lastreplicatedepoch":1504886821856,"type":"StoryWithVideo","body":[{"type":"text","text":"<p>HOUSTON&#x2014;Roiling waters in the streets have given way to steaming piles of garbage on the curbs.</p><p>Hurricane Harvey&#x2019;s record-setting rains created heaps of ruined possessions that now line entire neighbourhoods, nearly up to the rooftops of the homes that were swamped. All that sodden drywall, flooring, furniture, clothing and toys adds up to an estimated 6.1 million cubic metres in Houston alone, enough to fill the Houston Texans&#x2019; stadium two times over.</p><p>Texas and city officials have pledged to make a priority of the monumental task of cleaning it up, though they stopped short of giving specific timelines, mindful that such cleanups have dragged on longer than anticipated after other major storms.</p><p>&#x201c;We want to get it removed as quickly as possible,&#x201d; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told reporters Thursday.</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p>"},{"type":"ad","display":"small-only","pos":"1","sizes":[[300,250]],"interstitial":true,"name":"MobileMiddleArticleBigBox"},{"type":"text","text":"<p><a onContextMenu=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)\" onclick=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)\" href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/09/06/after-harvey-mould-monster-invades-texas-homes.html\">After Harvey, mould &#x2018;monster&#x2019; invades Texas homes</a></p>"},{"fullWindowMainart":false,"type":"image","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/09/07/hurricane-harvey-cleanup-anything-but-tidy/garbage-1.jpg","caption":"Some 200,000 homes along the Texas coast were damaged during hurricane Harvey. Now Houston residents such as Peggy Lanigan are cleaning out their homes.","credit":"Matt Rourke","source":"The Associated Press","origImageSize":"1199x797","forceoriginal":false},{"type":"text","text":"<p><a onContextMenu=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)\" onclick=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)\" href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/09/07/most-of-floridas-high-risk-flood-zones-not-insured-as-hurricane-irma-approaches.html\">More than 500,000 ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Irma bears down on South Florida</a></p><p><a onContextMenu=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)\" onclick=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, true)\" href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/09/04/hurricane-harvey-shows-that-if-disaster-strikes-well-be-stuck-hume.html\">Hurricane Harvey shows that if disaster strikes, we&#x2019;ll be stuck: Hume</a></p>"},{"type":"articleRelated","display":"medium-up"},{"type":"text","text":"<p>For now, the piles big and small have become evidence, of sorts, of the losses from more than 200,000 damaged homes up and down the Texas coast.</p><p>Not only are the heaps eyesores, but they are starting to give off a musty funk. And the longer they sit, officials warn, they could become havens for mould, not to mention snakes, rats, skunks and other critters. The junk could also turn into projectiles if, heaven forbid, another hurricane strikes.</p><p>&#x201c;I just can&#x2019;t stand it anymore,&#x201d; said Peggy Lanigan, who took a break from clearing out her Houston home that flooded for the first time in 22 years.</p><p>The city is pushing to complete a &#x201c;first pass&#x201d; of debris removal within 30 days, said Derek Mebane, deputy assistant director of Houston&#x2019;s solid waste department. He said collecting subsequent piles could take months and warned that if Hurricane Irma causes extensive damage in Florida, the cleanup in Houston could be slowed if resources are diverted. While local crews do the pickups, FEMA covers 90 per cent of the costs.</p><p>As it stands now, clearing even just one Houston street can take days. Some piles are so massive that a single stack of debris from one home can fill an entire truck.</p><p>Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner this week pleaded for help, asking for anyone with heavy equipment suitable for debris removal to reach out.</p><p>The trash will go into the city&#x2019;s existing landfills. San Antonio trucks have been sent in as part of an agreement between the two cities to help each other in disasters, the mayor said.</p><p>Soon after the storm hit, state officials suspended some environmental rules on waste removal that they said could impede the pace of disaster recovery, which raised concerns among environmentalists.</p><p>Trash looters are another concern. Some homeowners spray-painted messages on mattresses to leave them alone because the debris is needed for insurance claims. Others posted signs saying they were just drying out items they intended to save.</p><p>Mike Martinez said a king-sized mattress that had been floating in his bedroom days earlier was taken from his yard along with a La-Z-Boy sectional couch. The $5,000 (U.S.) sofa still looked brand new after the flood but was like a sponge if you sat on it. He couldn&#x2019;t understand why anyone would take it because it&#x2019;s contaminated with floodwater and probably mould.</p><p>&#x201c;It was like a parade of people going by looking at the devastation,&#x201d; Martinez said. &#x201c;Then there was a parade of people picking up the garbage.&#x201d;</p><p>Overturned sofas, listing mattresses and toppled chairs dominate the rubble while smaller, more intimate items hide in the cracks.</p><p>The piles also created a sort of archeological record of the households from which they came. There&#x2019;s a mouldering red cooler, a beat-up blue kiddie pool, a pornography stash spilling onto the street. Brand-new golf balls, a full jar of mangoes and a twisted artificial Christmas tree. A book titled <em>The Inheritance of Loss</em> seemed particularly poignant.</p><p>Sherri Blatt&#x2019;s main concern is that it could be a long wait before the mess is carted away. &#x201c;This is too long,&#x201d; she said. &#x201c;Once all the stuff is gone, I&#x2019;ll feel safe.&#x201d;</p><p>Almost on cue, a garbage truck rumbled around the corner. But it wasn&#x2019;t there for flood debris &#x2014; only for the trash that hadn&#x2019;t been picked up in a week and was adding its own odour to the mix. </p><p><em>Correction &#x2014; Sept. 8, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that incorrectly stated the volume of Houston's post-Harvey garbage.</em></p>"},{"type":"related_topics","tags":["mexico"]},{"type":"articleRelated","display":"small-only"},{"type":"newsletterbox"},{"type":"text","text":""}],"assetTags":["hurricane_harvey","hurricane_harvey","atlantic_hurricane_season","world","houston","mexico"],"seoKeywords":"World,Hurricane Harvey","promo":[],"related":{"pubdays":0,"strategy":0},"seoHead":"Hurricane Harvey cleanup anything but tidy","headline":"Hurricane Harvey cleanup anything but tidy","subheadline":"Ruined possessions line Houston streets as the city begins a ‘first pass’ of debris removal. 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