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Irma Trash Still Fills Keys Canals. One Has 16 Sunken RVs. Is Cleanup Finally Coming?

Charles Trainor Jr.
/
Miami Herald
An RV sunk in a canal in Marathon in the Florida Keys, Jan. 18, 2018. The RV and other debris litter the canals in the Keys after Hurricane Irma ravaged the middle keys in September.

On an unseasonably cool day in the Florida Keys, a manatee drifted through a canal, stopping occasionally to graze on an algae-slimed recreational vehicle that just barely crested the water’s surface.

That sunken RV is just one of 16 swept from the adjacent streets by Hurricane Irma in September. This 18-foot deep canal — filled with more wrecked homes than bobbing boats — is just one of hundreds in the island chain still clogged with storm trash.

But a canal clean-up in the Keys could finally be near.

Monroe County says it is close to reaching an agreement to start clearing canals, one of the final steps in picking up the massive amount of trash left behind by Irma. On land alone, more than 2.3 million cubic yards of waste have been removed, including over 19,000 large appliances. But four months later, it’s still unclear how much remains in the canals, some of which still look like the hurricane hit yesterday.

Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald

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