St. Paul residents may see their trash collection interrupted over garbage contractor dispute
Residents in St. Paul may not have their trash picked up starting on April 1 after the City Council delayed a proposal from a garbage contractor.
According to a letter sent by Mayor Melvin Carter to the City Council, officials announced a seven-year contract with FCC Environmental in June 2024. The agreement includes trash collection services that were set to begin on April 1 and a $25 million investment from the trash service company to build a new facility at 560 Randolph Ave.
The facility, according to Carter, includes a compressed natural gas station, over 30 collection trucks, fully electric pickups for route managers and an electric box truck for bulk and appliance pickup.
On Wednesday, the City Council passed an appeal filed by the Fort Road Federation. The nonprofit argues community members are concerned about the location of the proposed facility, saying it would hurt the area's development.
The Fort Road Federation filed an appeal to the St. Paul's Planning Commission, but that appeal was denied during a meeting on Feb. 21. In Wednesday's appeal, the nonprofit claimed "community voices were sidelined rather than meaningfully considered" during the Feb. 21 meeting.
Carter says the City Council's move to grant the appeal could cause a breach of contract with FCC Environmental and "would expose taxpayers to costly litigation, and interrupt trash hauling service for Saint Paul households."
The mayor says he's working with city staff and is considering a state of local emergency in case service is interrupted after March 31.
The nonprofit says it requested the facility plans be sent to the Planning Commission for review and is considering submitting testimony during a zoning committee public hearing on March 27.
