Contingency plan for FCC, Buncombe's new trash service, due to county on Sept. 1 - WLOS
Contingency plan for FCC, Buncombe's new trash service, due to county on Sept. 1
BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — FCC Environmental Services, Buncombe County's new solid waste service that will replace Waste Pro on Jan. 1, has a major step in its contract coming up.
According to Buncombe County spokesperson Kassi Day, FCC's contingency plan is due to the county on Sept. 1. It could prove pivotal moving forward after what recently happened in a county in Florida that FCC had just started serving.
The company faced scrutiny in St. Johns County, Florida, where it began its services on Aug. 1. According to previous News 13 reporting, in the first week, inspectors documented more than 5,000 missed trash collections.
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Less than three weeks later on Aug. 20, the board of county commissioners in St. Johns County voted unanimously to terminate its contract with FCC, according to News 13's Jacksonville ABC partner.
Day said Buncombe County, which has a contract with FCC that runs through 2031, has been actively monitoring the issues arising from the FCC transition in St. Johns County.
"Staff has communicated with St. Johns County, Florida, and understands their concerns. In addition, we are in continuous meetings with FCC leadership to discuss how they will provide a smooth transition. We’ll be working with their team to outline the components of the contingency plan, including what actions will take place and what expectations are," Day told News 13 on Aug. 22.
An FCC spokesperson responded to the matter.
"Buncombe County is a very different contract. All our contracts are different and we manage our contract requirements differently. For example, the Buncombe County contract has a diesel fleet and eliminates any potential issues associated with the procurement of CNG gas stations," the FCC spokesperson said.
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She also urged county residents who use Waste Pro to go to the Buncombe County Residential FCC Environmental Services website or call 828-820-7022 to subscribe to FCC’s service, which will begin on Jan 1.
"Advanced registration for FCC services is important to a smooth transition," Day said.
FCC made the following statement:
FCC is an experienced municipal solid waste management company dedicated to providing effective and efficient solutions to the collection of solid waste. We have many years of dedicated service and experience in the US and Florida. In St. John’s County, we started a very challenging contract with multiple components that resulted in situations that have been very difficult to perfect in only two weeks. However, we are not making excuses, and our management team has been working daily since the first day with the county to implement supplemental procedures to mitigate and improve the service. In all new contracts and start-ups, it’s common during the first couple of weeks to have operational challenges with technology and equipment. We have been working through those issues, improving daily and mitigating the situation to exceed service requirements. We strive for good service. We have started many new contracts without ever having such service issues within the first two weeks of the contract.