Officials say amount of debris has already surpassed that of Matthew

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County officials are two weeks into debris cleanup, and they say they have gotten to around 20% of the county so far. But, if you are still waiting for the county to come out and clean up the debris from your home, you are not alone.

Almost every house in the Northchase neighborhood has piles and piles of debris covering their front lawn. Some residents say that finally getting rid of this debris will be a step towards some normalcy back in their lives.

“I don’t know how they want to get it all or where they want to put it all. Everything has debris on it,” said Terry Reed, who lives in Northchase.

Reed says he just wants everything gone.

“It’s going to be great to get back to normal. You’re kind of living in a disaster, and it would be nice to get back to a normal routine,” said Reed.

There are 48 zones in the New Hanover County, and Environmental Management Director Joe Suleyman, says they have crews in all but three.

“As of yesterday, we have picked up 200,000 cubic yards of debris. And just for perspective, the entire Hurricane Matthew amount was 88,000. So we’re already well past Hurricane Matthew and we’ve only been out there collecting for two weeks,” said Suleyman.

In addition to collecting fallen trees and debris, beginning Monday, crews will start collecting carpets and furniture. He hopes to be finished before Thanksgiving. Residents are doing their part to speed things up.

“It takes a lot of time. You can’t do it in one day. Fortunately, we got the bulk of the debris picked up today, so that helps. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said Reed.

New Hanover County officials say they are working as hard as they can to make this process quick and effective. But residents like Reed say the Northchase neighborhood still has a long recovery process ahead of them.