FCC Environmental Services took over trash pickup in St. Johns County on Aug. 1, 2024. | FCC Environmental Services
Published on August 5, 2025 at 5:00 pm
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St. Johns County homeowners can expect to see their trash bills go up later this year.
The St. Johns County Commission on Tuesday approved a five-year rate schedule for annual solid waste fees. If all goes according to plan, residents can expect to pay $200 more annually over the next five years.
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The first increase will kick in in October when residents’ bills increase by $80 a year from the $254 they currently pay. After that, the county’s current plan calls for a $60 increase in 2027 and annual hikes until 2030, when homeowners are expected to pay $454 annually
The reason prices are jumping so much to start is because the county did not increase rates when it began working with a new trash company in 2024, said St. Johns County Public Works Director Greg Caldwell.
The switch to a new provider — FCC Environmental Services — was the first in two decades, County Commissioner Sarah Arnold said. FCC offered lower rates than competing companies, county officials said.
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There are a few chances that homeowners’ fees may not go up quite as much as expected.
Caldwell explained that if the county’s solid waste costs don’t increase at the rate forecast, the amount that homeowners pay won’t either.
“This is a service-based cost,” he said. “Right now, what we are providing to the board and the citizens of St. Johns County is what it costs to provide this service at the lowest cost.”
Caldwell and the St. Johns County Commission also proposed revisiting the county’s contract with FCC Environmental Services. Bringing down rates would mean altering services, and members of the County Commission made suggestions like reducing the amount of times recycling is collected per month to cut costs.
Caldwell even noted that county staff are investigating whether to charge people who rent out homes through short-term rental services like Airbnb and Vrbo more than people who actually live in their homes full time.
A number of homeowners said they are on fixed incomes and would struggle to pay the increased rates. But County Commissioner Christian Whitehurst said he didn’t see many options the county could adopt immediately.
County officials also drew attention to a program through the county’s Social Services division that allows residents facing financial hardships to apply for potential exemptions on their trash bills.
Even after the price increase, St. Johns County will still offer cheaper trash service than neighboring Jacksonville.
