JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Local trash companies are facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines after the city says the companies missed collections and violated the contract.
"If it's not in the middle of the road practically, they drive right by it and I'm stuck another week with trash," said taxpayer Tina Beasley. One councilman tells Action News there are complaints about trash not being picked up in Beasley's Riverside neighborhood.
According to a report just given to City Council members, more than 15,000 complaints have been recorded across the city since October of last year. Now we've uncovered that local companies not picking up garbage will pay for it. Advanced Disposal is facing the biggest fine at almost $90,000. The other two companies, SWS and Waste Pro, were fined more than $1,000 each.
Councilman John Crescimbeni said if trash isn't picked up within 24 hours, a fine is issued.
“They should get out and address the issues, not wait two-three days,” said Crescimbeni.
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Advanced Disposal tells Action News part of the problem is a big increase in yard waste and that it is working to make sure problems in their service area are resolved. We did call the other private haulers for a comment, but have not heard back.
A spokesperson for Advanced Disposal said they're still reviewing the fines to make sure mistakes weren't made. They're also working Saturdays to get everything caught up. They sent us this statement:
"Advanced Disposal, as well as all the haulers in the city of Jacksonville, has seen an extreme increase in yard waste volumes throughout the month of March and well into the month of April. This issue is not limited to just the city of Jacksonville. In fact, we are seeing this increase in yard waste across the entire state and parts of other states. We are working closely with the city of Jacksonville’s Solid Waste Department and the city councilmembers to make sure all of the (icare) issues in our service area are resolved in a timely manner, and we apologize to any customer who may have been inconvenienced by an untimely collection.
"Advanced Disposal was in receipt of the proposed liquidated damages the same time as the public on Wednesday, April 8, at the Neighborhood Blight Ad Hoc Committee Meeting. We have issued several public records request to determine why the fines are so high. As depicted in the report that was prepared by Solid Waste Division, Advanced Disposal has roughly the same amount of (icare) issues but with fines extremely higher than the other haulers over a six-month period. In comparison to the other haulers, Advanced Disposal is fined $21.25 per (icare) issue where the other haulers are fine between $.28 and $.25 per (icare) issue. This represents a 755 percent higher per issue fine which is extremely disproportionate and needs further research and review.
"Advanced Disposal is working well into the weekends to make sure all the yard waste is picked up and does not roll over into the next week. We understand that this is a temporary issue and are focused on making sure we serve the citizens in our services area with the best service possible and look forward to resolving the issue nature delivers in a timely manner. In addition, please refer to the attached spreadsheet outlining disproportionate fines and showcasing that Advanced Disposal has less complaints 50 percent of the months than the other contracted haulers."
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