ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — In St. Johns County, there seems to be a bit of trouble with trash collection.
Thousands of homes in the past week have not had their garbage picked up, and according to the county, it’s not because of the storm.
It’s not a huge issue, but when you have thousands of homes affected, something’s amiss.
Here’s what we know.
St. Johns County contracted with a new company, FCC Environmental Services, for solid waste pickup. The company took over on August 1.
In one week, county inspectors have documented more than 5,000 missed collections according to a county spokesman. That equals about four percent of the customers.
This trouble with trash pickup prompted St. Johns County to send out its own trucks from its Road and Bridge Department to pick up trash Sunday and Monday.
People who live in the Johns Creek subdivision off County Road 210 told First Coast News their trash was supposed to be collected this past Tuesday, but it was still on the curb in the mid-afternoon Thursday.
FCC Environmental nailed down the contract with St. Johns County for seven years with up to two five-year extensions for $575 million, according to a FCC press release in December. FCC said it would also invest more than $40 million in 60 trucks for the gig.
First Coast News reached out to FCC Environmental to see why there was a delay in the first week. Was it just a transitional problem in learning the new routes? First Coast News and the company's spokeswoman are playing phone tag.
Also, was the issue related to Hurricane Debby? St. Johns County's spokesman told First Coast News, “There were no noted impacts from Hurricane Debby."