Mike Trevino wakes up at 4:30 a.m. every day. An hour later, Gabriel Doria's alarm goes off.
The two city solid waste workers get in their city trucks at 7 a.m. to pick up brush and debris that was toppled over by the strong winds of Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi.
The duo have been working almost nonstop to clear debris in the city since Aug. 26, just one day after Harvey made landfall. That Saturday, crews worked along major roads in the city, such as Staples Street andGohillar Road, to clear debris out of the roadway. Later, crews came by to begin picking up the debris, Doria said.
Crews working immediately after the storm alsohad to watch out for low hanging wires and poles hitting their collection trucks, he said.
Friday, two weeks after Harvey hit the Texas coast, Trevino and Doria were on their fourth day of picking up debris and brush on North PadreIsland.
Doria, who normally picks up debris in the city's Westside, was moved to help clean upthe Island while other crews began picking up in other areas of the city.
In an effort to quickly pick up debris, the city of Corpus Christi contracted the help ofCrowderGulf, said Clarence Clark, brush collection superintendent.
CrowderGulf specializes in providing disaster recovery, debris removal and coastal restoration services, according to their website. The company has been contracted by the city for 30 days, Clark said.
"They have 100-yard trucks," Clark said. "They can collect almost 200 yards of debris at one time."
An extra set of hands has come in handy for the city, as Doria has made several trips to the Gulley-Hurst Landfill and the J.C. Elliott Transfer Stationbecause his 45-cubic-yard truck fills up quickly with debris, he said.
"Wood takes up a lot of room," Trevino said. "You can't compact it like brush."
Each trip to the Gulley-Hurst Landfill, where crews are taking a mix of debris and brush, is about 22 miles, Doria said. All debris at the landfill later gets covered.
Crews are only taking brush to The J.C. Elliott Transfer Station, Doria said.
"Brush is being mulched. If we put that in the landfill, it would take up about 3 yearsof space," Clark said.
Once the crew makes an initial first pass of the Island, they will start over to make a second pass to pick up more debris put out by residents, Doria said.
"A lot of people asked if we were coming back. We said 'yeah,' " he said. "So they started putting more things out."
After crews complete a second pass, they will move on to another area. Once all areas in the city have been passed twice, there will be one more citywide sweep, according to a news release from the city of Corpus Christi.
City crews also are picking up "white goods," or appliances that are placed on the curbside. Residents should take all food out of their refrigerators and try to take the doors off if possible. If not, residents should tape the doors so children don't get trapped inside, Clark said.
Residents can call the city and let them know they have appliances on their curbside ready for pickup.
Crews are picking up debris, brush and appliance in the entire city of Corpus Christi, which spans from the Island to the Calallen area, he said.
"A lot of people are still bringing stuff out," Clark said. "Probably about 70 percent of (debris) has been collected."
Residents should separate their items into three piles:One for loose brush and vegetation, one for bagged yard waste and debris, such as lumber, and one for appliances.
Streets also should be clear of vehicles blocking access to debris to allow crews to run routes smoothly.
Residents also can take their debris and appliances to the J.C. Elliott Transfer Station, which has resumed its regular schedule of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Thursday, Rockport, which was hardest hit by Hurricane Harvey,began residential trash pickup. The city also is asking residents to separate their debris into separatepiles: one for regular trash, which should be in blue and green bins, one for building debris, one for shrubs and another for appliances, according to the city's website.
The city anticipates trucks will fill up faster than they normally would. Runs are being made daily, the website states.
Aransas Pass also has begun to pick up debris. DRC Emergency Services and True North Emergency Services are picking up debris in the city, according to a Facebook post by the Aransas Pass Police Department.
As of Thursday, the two servicesreported they have picked up more than 50,000 cubic yards of debris, which mostly consists of tree limbs,in Aransas Pass.
