The effort to remove the mountain of debris left behind by the winds of Hurricane Isaac continues throughout Southeast Louisiana.

According to a news release, the City of New Orleans has so far disposed of 77,493 cubic yard of debris. Officials say they are continuing to deploy debris crews throughout New Orleans, with "many areas will have their second debris clean-up pass. The number of small equipment units has increased in order to clean the interior streets which large equipment cannot maneuver."

New Orleans officials say there are 5 prime contractors engaged in debris removal in Orleans Parish, 4 of which are local Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. In addition to DRC Emergency Services, the City has contracted with Metro Disposal, the Ramelli Group, Irvin Trucking & Demolition, and Cuzan Services .

The news release stats that more than 500 workers were on the streets today to remove debris, which includes City workers and contractors.  Other agencies participating in the clean-up include Parks and Parkways, Sanitation, Sewerage and Water Board, the Downtown Development District, City contractors, and the Louisiana National Guard, according to the news release.

"We are working aggressively to complete cleaning of all City streets," said Deputy Mayor for Operations Michelle Thomas. "We have deployed an increasing number of temporary and contract workers and are addressing every single block in every single neighborhood to effectively conclude the post-Isaac cleanup."

As part of the cleanup process, officials say the city has been divided into 60 zones. Crews are being dispatched "with special emphasis on main corridors, neighborhoods with the largest urban canopy and high volume zones-zones which have the largest number of trees with the most damage. These areas include Venetian Isles, and the Lower Ninth and Upper Ninth wards," according to the release.

Regular garbage pickup in Orleans Parish resumed on Friday, August 31 and is currently back on normal schedule.  Officials ask residents leave garbage curbside, and to not place debris and trash on the neutral ground.

Jefferson Parish Chief Administrative Officer over Environmental Affairs Jacques Molaisson says that contractors have removed 160,397 cubic yards of "woody waste" storm debris.  Additionally, 1,600 tons of bagged storm debris, and the Jefferson Parish Public Works Department has picked up 334 tons of bagged storm debris.

"We're ahead of schedule," according to Molaisson.  He says the efforts after Isaac, compared to previous storms, is going very well. 

CLICK HERE to listen to Molaisson talk about the debris-removal efforts in Jefferson Parish...

Molaisson said that recycling has been halted so that the parish can use ISI's full resources to pick up storm debris.  He said that recycling services may be restored next week.