MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – Some Clay County residents are reportedly having to wait all week to get their trash picked up, which comes after the county switched to a new trash hauler, FCC Environmental Services, on Tuesday.
Some of those who reported having to wait reside in Middleburg’s Spencer Trails neighborhood.
Two of those residents, Don and Michelle McColl, said they were supposed to have their trash picked up Tuesday, but it didn’t get removed until three days later.
News4JAX watched as the couple stopped the driver of an FCC Environmental Services truck while it was on their street.
According to the McColl’s, the garbage truck driver picked up a few trash cans, but began bypassing others, including theirs.
Michelle described it as a headache.
“It’s stressful,” she said.
The couple said they don’t think their trash would have been picked up had they not taken the initiative to stop the driver.
Michelle said she’s called to report her missed pickup multiple times, adding to the mounting frustration.
“Every time you called, you had to give your name, your address your phone number, where you lived and you’re sitting there like ‘I told you this multiple times,’” Michelle said.
Judie Armstrong, who lives on the same street as the McColls, said she’s reported her missed pickup over five times.
This isn’t the first time News4JAX has reported on missed trash pickups by FCC Environmental Services.
In August, News4JAX reported on St. Johns County terminating its contract with the company after the county received over 10,000 service complaints, which included complaints of trash not being picked up for weeks.
That is something fellow Spencer Trails resident Chris Alexander hopes won’t be an issue in the coming weeks.
“We’re not trying to be the loudest voice in the room or get anything special, we just want the garbage picked up,” Alexander said.
News4JAX reached out to Clay County for comment on this situation, and a spokesperson provided a statement:
“We continue to work closely with FCC Environmental Services as they start this new service in Clay County. We do not have any reports of major issues. We do have reports of missed collections, and crews are picking up each reported missed collection as quickly as possible. Residents can go to our website for all the information on the new service.”
News4JAX also reached out to FCC Environmental Services, but it did not immediately respond.
If you live in Clay County and have questions about FCC Environmental Services, the county created this page to help answer questions.