Port St. Lucie residents demand answers on Waste Pro, trash collection at virtual Q&A session
PORT ST. LUCIE— About 250 people Tuesday night tuned into the city's virtual Q&A session to voice grievances and demand answers regarding trash collection here.
The city's contracted trash hauler since 2006, Waste Pro, has faced scrutiny from customers and city leaders over the past three years for failing to pick up trash, recycling and yard waste.
Waste Pro's poor performance, which the company attributes to a nationwide worker shortage, has led to a lawsuit and the termination of its contract three years early.
FCC Environmental Services Florida is set to replace Waste Pro in September.
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Here are some questions city officials answered Tuesday during the Facebook live event that garnered over 900 comments.
What is the new rate under FCC?
Under the new contract, residential rates will increase nearly 50%, and curbside trash collections days will be cut in half.
Moreover, more than 81,500 residential customers will pay $35.28 monthly or $423.36 annually — an increase of $11.55 and $138, respectively.
Commercial customers will pay $11.29 per cubic yard, a $3.44 increase.
City officials cited inflation and rising diesel fuel costs as the reasons for the rate hike.
When will trash be picked up?
This week, about 85% of Waste Pro's Monday garbage routes were collected on time and roughly 25% of Tuesday's routes were promptly collected, City Manger Russ Blackburn said.
"They're (Waste Pro) probably three or four weeks behind," Blackburn said.
Two weeks ago, City Council agreed to halt recycling indefinitely "to avoid a public health crisis," so Waste Pro can free up 12 drivers to help catch up on garbage collections.
The city is creating an online map to track missed trash routes. It should be available later this week at www.cityofpsl.com/solidwaste, officials said.
Will I receive a refund for poor service?
It's unknown if residents will receive a refund for Waste Pro's shortcomings, Blackburn said.
The city has withheld over $2 million from Waste Pro in the past year, but it's been allocating that money to pay other companies to collect yard and bulky waste.
All extra funds likely will be spent by September, Blackburn said, when FCC takes over from Waste Pro.
"I can't say we would never give a refund..." he added. "We will have to determine where we are at the end of the contract period."
Can I take my trash to the convenience drop-off site?
No, residents can only drop off recycling, yard waste and bulky items at the convenience drop-off center, which is open 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily at the corner of Cameo Boulevard and Crosstown Parkway.
The center is not permitted as a trash collection location by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
It would take longer than the three months that remain until FCC begins picking up trash to obtain that permitting, Solid Waste Project Manager Dave Peters said.
Where to watch
The city will host another live Facebook Q&A session at 5:30 p.m. Monday and hopes to have FCC officials available to answer questions.
Residents can visit www.CityofPSL.com/TV or www.facebook.com/cityofpsl to participate. Cable customers can watch PSL TV channel 20 on Comcast, Blue Stream Fiber or channel 99 on U-Verse.
Olivia McKelvey is TCPalm's watchdog reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach her at olivia.mckelvey@tcpalm.com, 772-521-4380 and on Twitter @olivia_mckelvey.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Waste Pro: PSL officials answer questions on trash collection
