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Despite emergency plan, Polk trash woes persist
Ken Suarez reports
LAKELAND, Fla. - Polk County commissioners just trashed the company responsible for picking up garbage on the west side of the county.
"We want you to succeed, but understand, because of what has happened and your performance, we have little faith in your success, said Polk County Commission Chair, Dr. Martha Santiago, who made the comment during a meeting with trash hauling company FCC on Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, the county allowed FCC to stop recycling for a while to give the company a chance to get its act together.
An FCC spokesman told them it has made great strides by putting more trucks on the road, hiring more people and making its routes more efficient.
"The first two weeks of performance measures shows [complaint] calls are down significantly," said FCC manager Jim Suter.
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Frustrations pile up with uncollected trash in Polk County
Polk County commissioners have declared a local state of emergency to address ongoing missed trash collections in unincorporated parts of the county, saying they "endanger the public health, safety and welfare of Polk residents."
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Commissioners were not even close to being satisfied.
"While I do see some improvements, it is so bad, any improvement would be good," said Commissioner George Lindsey.
"We gotta get this fixed, or we gotta take a new direction entirely," commented Commissioner Neil Combee.
Commissioners are especially concerned about what might happen when FCC has even more work when recycling resumes in a few weeks.
In the meantime, Polk County is already looking into leasing a few garbage trucks just in case FCC continues to fall short.
"I think the county is going to have to get in the garbage business one day," said Commissioner Bill Braswell.