Dive Brief:

• The results are in for a forensic report of Republic Services' residential waste collection in Bartow, Florida.
• The audit puts an end to two years of fighting between the waste hauler and the county. The dispute concerned billing and collections issues and charges that county officials didn't strictly enforce the waste services agreement. 
• The forensic audit found missing documents and data, and an estimated $525,537 in overpayments to the company. Minimal co-mingling of waste was addressed, but the majority of overpayments stemmed from incorrect credits for waste materials brought to the county landfill. 

Dive Insight:

The basis of the audit was the original 2010 franchise agreement, parts of which, such as computerized systems detailing route activity, have not yet been implemented. The investigation found that Republic's database is unreliable and not current.

The audit revealed that the fault lay with both the county and Republic, and both entities will be required to share the cost of the audit equally.