City of Port St. Lucie files a Motion for Contempt against Waste Pro

The City’s Contempt Motion states:

• The City agreed to suspend collection of recyclables to free up Waste Pro’s recycling drivers and their trucks to assist efforts to collect garbage. However, within a month, Waste Pro has reassigned drivers from City routes to collection routes for St. Lucie County. Thus, the additional workforce from the City agreement to temporarily suspend recycling went to support the County’s garbage collection and not the City.
• Although the City agreed to suspend the recycling routes, the City never agreed to reducing garbage collection to one time per week from two times per week. However, Waste Pro is communicating to the residents of the City that it is only collecting garbage one time per week.
• Waste Pro is not even picking up garbage one time per week in many parts of the City.
• Prior to June 14, 2022, Waste Pro provided daily emails to the City notifying of routes that were missed in whole or part. Since these emails were used in prior proceedings to show Waste Pro’s daily missed routes, Waste Pro is no longer providing these emails which is requiring the City to use City staff members to go out and visibly inspect the routes.
• The City has videotaped numerous incidents in which Waste Pro’s drivers are driving the routes, but only picking up some, not all, of the garbage on the routes.

The City has made several attempts to coordinate collection efforts with Waste Pro, but Waste Pro’s Regional Vice President has severed communications with the City. This has limited the City’s ability to provide the necessary updates to its residents.

As Waste Pro’s service levels deteriorate, the City has:

• Enacted emergency measures to supplement service by deploying two (2) leased rear-loader garbage trucks and staff to address crisis pickups and anticipate leasing additional garbage trucks in the immediate future.
• Contracted with two (2) yard waste haulers and established a voluntary drop-off site.
• Ended its contract with Waste Pro and has engaged a new hauler (FCC Environmental Services) which will begin in early September. This modern company has a reliable track record, and its new technology should result in dramatically improved service.
• Vigilantly pursued a lawsuit, on behalf of its residents, against Waste Pro, seeking monetary damages for the hardship faced by the residents and business owners of the City.