Fiona storm debris sites on P.E.I. will be closing as of Oct. 31

At the end of this month, the P.E.I. government will close down 16 sites that have been open to the public for dumping debris from post-tropical storm Fiona.

When Fiona struck the Island over the September 23 weekend in 2022,it felled trees from tip to tip, leaving an enormous cleanup job.

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Provincial and municipal crews picked up storm debris placed on the side of the road, but the province also opened 16 sites so that peoplecould dump branches and sections of trees that had been cleaned up from their properties free of charge.

Now those sites are closing, on Oct. 31.

After that day, Island Waste Management Corporation drop-off centres will be the option for disposing of debris, with standard fees applied.

Terry Lewis,who owns Lewis Property Management, called the move disappointing.

"We're doing a lot of tree work related to Fionastill, even though it's been a year, and it's going to increase costs to small businesses or to the customer to have this stuff put into IWMC facilities," he said.

"It's going to take a lot longer to truck the stuff into Charlottetown, for example it's more man hours and increased fuel costs as well. It adds up for sure."