Mid‑year review: Clay County trash contractor reports misses are down to single digits; rollout issues largely resolved

At a May 27 meeting the county’s environmental services director and representatives from FCC, the new curbside contractor, gave a mid‑year report showing missed household collection incidents have declined markedly since the October 2024 service change.

The rollout: County Environmental Services Director Milton Towns reviewed the October launch that combined changes in collection frequency, a switch to carted collection with on‑call bulk pickup, elimination of curbside recycling and a change of hauler. The combined service changes and a hurricane debris event produced a high number of reports early in the contract’s first 60 days. Towns said nearly 1,400 missed pickups were reported in October, but the county’s third‑eye camera and automated truck cameras allowed staff to verify and correct many early issues.

Improvement trend: By November reported misses fell to 284 for the month; December through April totals showed an average of about 20 verified misses per week across roughly 150,000 weekly collection services. Towns said several recent weeks had single‑digit verified misses and that staff now “have single‑digit misses in 10 of the last 12 weeks.” He reported FCC has delivered or repaired 5,070 carts since October and handled more than 27,500 phone interactions from December through April.

Operations and costs: Towns said the contract is tracking close to budget. FCC’s billed unit cost was $18.10 per unit per month; the county’s annual collection contract budget is about $16.2 million and mid‑year expenditures are in line with projections. He also said requests for additional carts and overflow sticker sales have decreased 49–51 percent quarter‑over‑quarter, suggesting resident behavior is stabilizing.

Transfer‑station repairs: Towns told the board that a concrete tip‑floor repair at the Rosemary Hill transfer station will narrow truck throughput for approximately one week for curing. Staff said they are diverting loads where allowed and asked for patience while repairs proceed.

What commissioners asked: Commissioners raised questions about bulk pickup turnaround and side‑door pickup eligibility; Towns said bulk requests are scheduled for the circuit’s next collection day (so calling earlier in the day increases the chance of next‑day service) and that FCC offers a paid “side‑door” service or a no‑cost option for qualifying low‑income or mobility‑impaired residents.

Ending: County staff said the trend shows the new contract stabilizing and encouraged residents to use county information channels for pickup guidance and to request service via the contractor’s tracking systems, which county and contractor staff share for consolidated reporting.