ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Fees for garbage collection and disposal are going up for property owners in unincorporated St. Lucie County following unanimous County Commission approval Sept. 2.
Property owners will pay $468 per year starting Oct. 1, up $82.56 from what they pay this fiscal year.
But they’re keeping twice-a-week garbage collections.
The cost increase comes as the county is facing growing costs at its landfill, which it has passed on to customers, including the not only households in the unincorporated county but also to larger customers such as the city of Port St. Lucie.
Port St. Lucie is also increasing solid-waste fees for its homeowners, due in part to higher fees to dump at the landfill. The city’s new garbage collection and disposal rate, approved by the City Council Aug. 25, is $467.33 per year per household, a $20.89 increase from this year.
One key difference between city and county services, which now cost nearly the same, is the number of pickups per week.
In 2022 — amidst a garbage-collection crisis that left some Port St. Lucie residents without pickup for weeks — hauler WastePro terminated its contract with the city three years early. But the city’s new hauler, FCC Environmental Services, offered once-a-week pickup. The city agreed to it, calling it the cheapest option for residents and a way to put an end to the collection issues.
In unincorporated St. Lucie County, meanwhile, WastePro kept its twice-weekly contract.
Prior to the Sept. 2 vote, County Commissioner James Clasby said that the increase is necessary in order for service to continue.
“I’m not going to do anything that will risk two-day-a-week service to our customers, ratepayers,” Clasby said.
In Port St. Lucie, where some residents have complained of the decreased pickups from twice-per-week to once, the City Council is planning to put the issue on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot.
Councilmembers have warned any increase in service would come at an increased cost, and have pointed to a 2024 city-run survey that found 86% of respondents would rather maintain once-per-week pickup than pay another estimated $131 per year more to move back to twice-per-week.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Trash fees to rise in unincorporated St. Lucie County, but twice-weekly pickups will stay
Reporting by Wicker Perlis, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
