St. Johns County terminates contract with waste hauler FCC after delayed, missed pickups

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Johns County terminated its contract with trash hauler FCC Environmental Services Florida on Tuesday, Action News Jax has learned.

Since taking over trash pickup services in the county on Aug. 1, the waste management company has angered neighbors across St. Johns County with late garbage pick-ups.

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The County Commission said during its Tuesday meeting that its contract with FCC Environmental allows the waste company to continue service for 12 months after being terminated. They also passed a state of emergency to pick up yard waste in St. Johns County by this Sunday.

During the meeting, some commissioners accepted full responsibility for their decision to go with FCC.

Dan Brazil, the CEO of FCC, claimed the company had a 99% rate of collections completed in St. Johns County. One commissioner told him to stop saying that for they believe he is incorrect.

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On Monday, Brazil told Action News Jax’s Nicholas Brooks the company had about 4,000 complaints of missed trash pick-up. He now states it was 5,000.

During the meeting, homeowners expressed their frustration with the commissioners and Brazil.

Though FCC will continue service for 12 months, county commissioners voted to use a sub-waste provider to serve the county in the meantime. They didn’t say which sub provider they will use.

How we got here

Only Brooks got a one-on-one interview on Monday Brazil, who answered questions about his company’s performance in St. Johns County after a private meeting with St. Johns County commissioners.

This is how Brazil explained the company’s performance to Brooks:

“We took every action we could take place of fulfilling those rules, bringing in the seasoned drivers and employees, but there’s still more that we had to onboard that were new to the company. So our big pieces, again, apologize if you’ve had delays, many of you haven’t, many of you have. We’re doing everything we can diligently to work through that and appreciate your patience.”

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On Aug. 1, FCC took over trash services for the county.

Since then, Action News Jax has told you about complaints from neighbors.

On Friday, St. Johns County put out a video on its Facebook page with County Commissioner Sarah Arnold saying moving forward, termination of the contract would be a “strong possibility.”

Action News Jax will have the latest updates, including next steps, on CBS47 Action News Jax at Noon.

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