Palm Coast, Waste Pro End Contract Leaving Residents Without Recycling Bins

The city of Palm Coast, Fla. has ended its contract with Waste Pro, leaving its residents without a convenient way to continue recycling.

Joseph Bender, a Palm Coast resident, is worried about what will happen to his recyclables now, assuming these materials are now destined for the landfill.

“I feel guilty, just putting it out as garbage. Since I have no containers, I have to throw Coke cans out and it bothers me, it really does,” said Bender.

Bender is just one of 7,000 residents who were left without recycling bins after Palm Coast ended their contract with Waste Pro. The company came by each household in the city with a trailer and drove off with the green and blue bins.

The contract between Palm Coast and Waste Pro ended after 17 years. One June 1, Palm Coast entered a new contact with FFC Environmental.

Palm Coast provide a statement regarding the situation, reading, “We are sympathetic to the fact that the removal of the recycling bins by the outgoing hauler caused a disruption in the smooth transition to the new contractor. It is the City’s position that the ownership of the recycling bins belongs to the residents as stated in the contract.”

Waste Pro responded by saying that the bins are property of the company, not the residents and that the bins were provided to the residents at no charge. Once the contract was ended, Waste Pro called the removal of the bins legal and appropriate.

Watch the full video here.