TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County public works crews have collected 5.7 million cubic yards of storm debris.

To put that in perspective, that’s enough debris to fill Raymond James Stadium more than 13 times.

County crews and contractors have worked around the clock since the storms last fall to collect, sort and transport debris.

Demolition debris, including furniture, drywall and building materials, were sent to Class 3 landfills outside the county.

Vegetation was sent to various facilities for reuse as mulch and for soil amendment.

Assistant County Administrator of Public Works Kim Byer said the county hired extra contractors to help haul debris, and county staff took on different roles to help get the job done.

“We had many different departments filling different roles to assist with debris collection,” Byer said. “Our codes department was working full time on the construction demolition debris collection. We had our solid waste folks working seven days a week at their collection sites.  

“In addition, we had customer service folks pitching in, answering phone calls. And we had our communication and digital media folks helping us roll out different communications through different media outlets.”

County officials said it usually takes about six months to remove storm debris after a hurricane.