Dive Brief:
- Lee County, FL has issued a $375,900 fine on Progressive Waste Solutions after documenting nearly 1,100 cases in which Progressive did not fulfill its contract with the county. However Progressive pushed back, stating that it will not pay the fine until issues are worked through.
- In addition to the fine, Lee County stated that if Progressive does not begin to service the county correctly, it would void its 7-year, $65 million contract with the company.
- Progressive tried to defend its actions, releasing a statement that the company has made "steady progress and measurable improvements" toward returning to expected service levels. An official told NBC-2 that Progressive is working with Lee County Solid Waste behind closed doors to fix the issue.
Dive Insight:
Residents in Lee County no longer wish to deal with faulty trash collection from Progressive, saying that the company must have not "done their homework" when preparing to service the county. However, some understand the struggles that the waste management company may have with servicing a large population of customers.
"It empties on one side of the truck, come down the street, empty it and back down to get my street. I can see why they get behind," resident Ray Walters explained to NBC-2.
County Commissioner also told the news station that he is hopeful the contract will work out. "Their staff has worked well with our staff to try to resolve the problems and iron them out. We are going to make sure we stay on top of them until they are ironed out," he said.
Lee County is just one Florida county that is experiencing faulty service from a trash collection company. In Indian River County, FL, Waste Management is giving its customers one-month credits on their garbage bills to make-up for missed pickups and inaccurate information from the company's call center.
