Pinellas County encourages residents and businesses to reuse clean sandbags or dispose of contaminated sandbags. Find detailed information below.
What to do with sandbags
Pinellas County encourages residents and businesses to reuse clean sandbags or dispose of contaminated sandbags.
Sandbags that did not come into contact with floodwaters can be safely reused or stored.
For sandbags that did not come into contact with floodwaters:
- Keep and store clean sandbags for preparation for future events. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with most storms occurring between mid-August and late October.
- Spread sand on lawns or landscape beds. Place the empty bags in your garbage bin (do not place the bags in your recycling bin).
- Pinellas County Environmental Management advises residents to not dump their sandbags onto the beach. Sand used to help stop flooding may be different from beach sand and can cause issues for turtle nesting, among other problems.
Sandbags that have come in contact with flood water can become contaminated with bacteria.
For sandbags that have come into contact with floodwaters:
- Bring used sandbags, separated from other waste to the Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Complex, 3095 114th Ave. N., St. Petersburg. Disposal fees apply.
Please do not dispose of any sand or full sandbags in your regular trash. The sand does not burn and will not convert to energy in the county’s Waste-to-Energy Facility.
Furthermore, do not mix sandbags with yard debris. The sand is abrasive and damages equipment used to grind yard debris into mulch.
For more information, please call the Department of Solid Waste at (727) 464-7500.
Information courtesy of Pinellas County Department Solid Waste.