When Buncombe County decided to move on from its former waste management contractor, commissioners hoped that a new provider would do a better job. Last year, Commissioners opted not to renew with Waste Pro, its previous contractor, when the company proposed a steep rate hike.
At the start of the year, Buncombe County began a contract with a new waste management provider, FCC Environmental Services, which serves more than 38,000 residents in unincorporated parts of the county. For some customers, the rollout has not been smooth.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners grilled FCC representatives, Charles Merkley and Lewis Oliver, over the company’s performance at a county briefing on Tuesday.
The two biggest complaints were missed trash pickups and an unhelpful customer service hotline.
“My biggest concern at the moment is people whose trash is getting missed a couple weeks or more than three weeks in a row,” board member Parker Sloan told FCC.
READ MORE: Last night at Commission: new Waste Pro contract denied
Board memberTerri Wells also had several questions about FCC’s customer hotline, which is staffed with six local employees.
“Part of the frustration I hear from the community repeatedly is that they're calling this call center and that they're being told by whomever is answering the phone by your staff that they can't pull up their account. They can't see anything, that they can't give them any information because they're just at this call center,” she said.
Merkley said he wanted to fix the problems as badly as everyone else wanted to see solutions, but did not offer specific strategies for the customer service hotline. He said customers who can’t immediately reach a local representative are sent to the company’s call center, which has staff based in Colorado and Texas.
In a presentation, he said that customer call volumes had dropped substantially since FCC first took over in January, from 2,000 calls per day to 600. The chief complaint from customers, Merkley confirmed, was missed trash and recycling bins.
“We're just as frustrated as the residents,” he said. Merkley added that FCC representatives will attend upcoming Buncombe County Recovery Sessions for customers who want to troubleshoot waste collection issues. Customers who still need to pick up bins can also go to FCC’s local headquarters from 6 a.m to 7 p.m. at 3109 Sweeten Creek Road, he said.
Board member Al Whitesides told Merkley that his patience was running out.
“I’m not satisfied with what I see,” he said. “It doesn’t fly with me.”
People have been sharing a lot of complaints, he said.
“I've gotten more calls and people stopping me at the supermarket, at church, everywhere I go about their garbage collection,” he said. “And what concerns me, I'm beginning to hear more about garbage than the Helene problem with the storm… We've got to see results. And as long as I get calls and I see the emails, I'm assuming that you all are not doing your job.”
Board members Wells and Whitesides both expressed interest in what penalties exist in the contract should FCC not deliver on its commitments.
Dane Pedersen, the county’s solid waste director, said no penalties have been applied to the contractor yet, but that there’s “no grace period” in the county’s contract that allows for missed service.
If FCC continues to miss trash and recycling pickups, the county has the right to start charging for every missed bin, he said.
“It is a very punitive contract. There’s no doubt about that,” Pedersen said.
For every bin that is confirmed as missed, there is a $200 fee, he explained. That penalty goes up if there is a larger volume of missed bins. For example, if more than 21 bins are missed in one month, the penalty increases to $500 per bin.
The county’s contract with FCC runs through the end of 2031.
Other tidbits
- Board members approved using $1.3 million in Open Space Bonds for the purchase of three conservation easements: Kestrel Herb Farm, Sandy Hollar Farm and Battle Forest. The agreement limits development on the land in perpetuity.
- Swannanoa, one of the towns hit hardest by Hurricane Helene, will receive support from the county to create a community recovery plan. Elected officials, community members and other local partners will work together to address everything from flood resilient development to transportation planning. County officials estimate the planning would take up to two years and cost around $98,000.
Every first and third Tuesday, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meets at 200 College Street, Room 326 in downtown Asheville beginning at 5 p.m. See the full recording and agenda of the Feb. 18 meeting.
