Fines rack up against trash haulers for missed pickups

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Recycling is piling up in Jacksonville, and so are the fines racking up against trash pickup companies.

In a statement to Action News Jax, a representative said the recycling issue was due to no pickups over the holiday weekend, and the sites have since been cleared.

The city traded curbside recycling for 15 drop-off sites across the city. It’s a move the mayor said would help trash haulers get back on track with garbage pickup back in early October.

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“We support recycling and understand the importance. This is why we created this temporary solution. Next week, we will be revisiting the dos and don’ts of recycling to remind people what they can and cannot recycle. Not just to address what people are bringing to the drop-off sites, but to help reeducate everyone for when curbside recycling returns,” a representative said.

Data provided to Action News Jax by the city shows so far, missed pickups have dropped as a result. From October 25th to November 1st there were 508 missed garbage pickups. That compares to 399 during the week of December 6th to the 13th.

The city contracts services out to three different companies, including Waste Management, Waste Pro, and now Meridian which replaced Republic Services in October.

According to city data, Republic Services was fined $1,375 for missed pickups in January. In September, it racked up $428,750 which is when the city terminated its contract. It was replaced by Merdian with a nearly $1.3 million bid. In October and November, Meridian has faced no fines. Here’s a list of the total fines accrued by each trash hauler.

Advanced Disposal (owned by Waste Management):

January 2021 — $125.00

February 2021 — $25.00

March 2021 — $2,100.00

April 2021 — $1,450.00

May 2021 — $250.00

June 2021 — $6,225.00

July 2021 — $62,400.00

August 2021 — $280,075.00

September 2021 — $296,675.00

October 2021 — $203,325.00

November 2021 — $181,175.00

Republic Services:

January 2021 — $1,375.00

February 2021 — $1,000.00

March 2021 — $31,075.00

April 2021 — $28,400.00

May 2021 — $38,700.00

June 2021 — $250.00

July 2021 — $1,150.00

August 2021 — $6,000.00

September 2021 — $428,750.00 (contract ended Sept. 30th)

Waste Pro:

January 2021 — $1,500.00

February 2021 — $3,050.00

March 2021 — $72,400.00

April 2021 — $124,900.00

May 2021 — $975.00

June 2021 — $11,475.00

July 2021 — $116,425.00

August 2021 — $191,125

September 2021 — $189,225.00

October 2021 — $9,175.00

November 2021 — $4,300.00

In an email, a city representative explained, the city “withholds the amount of funds that correlates with the amount of services that each hauler failed to perform during the previous month.”

However, some neighbors argue the system is not working.

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The city blames a nationwide labor shortage, including a high need for CDL drivers.

Action News Jax dug through the websites of each contractor and only found a handful of jobs posted. We reached out to the companies for clarification, but only heard back from Republic Services.

“Excluding a few openings, we are fully staffed on the CDL side in Jacksonville,” a representative said.

Many truckers with a CDL opt for higher-paying jobs with companies like Amazon and Walmart, who pay up to $80,000, compared to trash haulers who get up to $40,000.

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