NEARLY 10,000 TRUCK LOADS OF DEBRIS COLLECTED IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON SINCE HURRICANE IKE

September 23, 2008 -- The City of Houston , with the assistance of its contractors and mutual aid assistance from cities such as San Antonio , Dallas , Fort Worth and Austin , has collected more than 9,923 truck loads (411,825 cubic yards) of storm debris between Sunday, September 14th and Monday, September 22, 2008.

With more than 800 trucks and loaders hitting the streets, the collection is expected to increase to 100,000 cubic yards of storm debris collected per day, an amount equal to what the city Solid Waste Management Department typically collects in one month.

“We have the finest solid waste operators anywhere; the magnitude of this storm and the resulting debris requires assistance from all over our region. We are grateful to have received the help,” said Solid Waste Department Director Harry Hayes. “We asked for your patience because the extent of storm damage will require us to continue debris collection.”