FCC Environmental Services took over trash pickup in St. Johns County on Aug. 1, 2024. | FCC Environmental Services
Published on July 25, 2025 at 10:59 am
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Even though the St. Johns County Commission agreed to toss its contracted trash company, FCC Environmental Services isn’t getting put on the curb after all.
The county made the decision this week after receiving a $1.5 million settlement to make up for performance last year that county officials called “a disaster.”
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Public Works Director Greg Caldwell explained that while the County Commission agreed to sever the contract with FCC, the company has shown since that its services can be up to snuff.
“They are over 99.9% efficient right now, but with that being said, the county is still holding their feet to the fire,” Caldwell said. “We’re still making sure that everything is adhering to the contract, and we will continue to do so. But right now, we feel like they are adhering to the contract.”
When the new trash hauler began working for St. Johns County last summer, its initial rollout was rocky. Haulers missed pickups, leaving thousands of residents with their trash on the curb, and others reported sloppy jobs with trash cans and garbage left in roadways.
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St. Johns County had to mobilize its own staff and help from other companies to pick up FCC’s slack. The company’s $1.5 million settlement pays the county back for those services.
Even with all of that in mind, Caldwell said that ditching FCC — which was selected, in part, because it offered cheaper service than competing solid waste companies — would lead to a “dramatic increase in the cost of services.”
“The second-lowest contractor that could provide a similar service was $12 million more over the course of a year,” he said.
As it stands, the St. Johns County Commission is already set to consider raising garbage fees for residents, and that’s at FCC’s lower rates.
The commission unanimously decided to keep FCC as the county’s trash hauler during its most recent meeting, but not without recognizing the company’s past performance.
“Here I sit a year later, it’s not that I’ve forgotten the awful job that they did when they rolled out in St. Johns County,” County Commissioner Christian Whitehurst said. “But we are faced with the decision whether or not we want to charge the residents of St. Johns County double to replace the company that is currently picking up nearly 100% of the contractual obligations,”
He encouraged county staff to keep the pressure on FCC to ensure the company continues to perform its trash, yard waste and recycling pickup duties properly.
FCC is expected to remain in place for six more years. After that, the county will have the option to renew FCC for two more five-year terms.
