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Video from Mayor Antonio V. Arserio {Facebook}

By Kevin Deutsch

Republic Services, the company Margate commissioners recently hired to handle trash hauling and recycling, was blasted by residents and officials at Wednesday’s City Commission meeting for doing a “horrible job” in their new role.

Republic took over Margate’s solid waste services from longtime provider Waste Management in February, contracting with officials to perform residential and commercial garbage removal, recycling, and bulk pickup for more than 58,000 residents.

Since then, complaints about poor service, missed pickups, and garbage cans being mauled by the lifting mechanism on Republic’s trucks have been piling up.

“Residents, we hear the complaints loud and clear regarding Republic…and I assure you we are logging and documenting every complaint that comes in, and we are going to hold them fully accountable for their performance,” Margate City Manager Cale Curtis said at Wednesday’s meeting. “It’s unacceptable, in our minds. They should be a lot farther along in terms of their performance.”

“On behalf of the city, I apologize. But we will get it in order.”

Curtis’ apology came after Margate resident Donna Fellows told commissioners her bulk trash pickup was still sitting in the street, days after Republic’s scheduled pickup.

Even prodding of the company by Mayor Antonio Arserio, who’s been bringing residents’ complaints directly to Republic’s management, did not get Fellows’ trash collected.

“You all hired the company, so you all need to step in and do something about this,” Fellows said. “It’s been since February, and we’re still having problems. Come on, Waste Management wasn’t that bad. But this company sure is bad, and I don’t like it…there needs to be something done.”

“You are 100 percent correct,” Arserio responded. “The company is showing poor performance, in at least my opinion. You shouldn’t have to call them [to complain].”

Arserio said commissioners would discuss their options for dealing with Republic’s performance at the next commission meeting, scheduled for April 20.

“I do encourage you to come and send it to as many residents as you can to fill this room to let [Republic] know what a horrible job they are doing right now,” Arserio said.

Since February, the mayor said he has helped “a couple hundred people” deal with waste collection issues, writing to residents individually on Facebook with requests for details about their trash problems.

Margate city staffers are currently going through the city’s contract with Republic and will “present the commission with forms of accountability,” including potential “fines and penalties and up to possibly terminating the contract,” Arserio said.

Margate awarded its exclusive franchise contract for waste handling to Republic in August 2021. The provider replaced Waste Management, the former contract-holder used by many municipalities in Broward County, and which remains the largest trash and recycling hauler in the U.S.

Another Margate resident, Tracy Van Winkle, told commissioners the electronic lifting claws used by Republic’s trucks “crushed and cracked” her garbage can recently and disturbed the neighborhood with their roaring sounds.

“I was told if it gets cracked again, I’ll pay for the next one,” Van Winkle told commissioners. “I guarantee you I won’t. No city resident should have to pay for it.”

“Their equipment is so violent when it picks up these trash cans ….when it goes and grabs it, it squeezes the can like it’s going to kill it.”

Margate Commissioner Joanne Simone said she’s been “in constant with Republic Services, telling them the concerns of the residents.”

She said that the company is getting new trucks in June to address some of the issues.

“They have assured me they are working [to improve their service]” and “are committed to doing a good job,” said Simone.

“It’s a work in progress. I know it’s very frustrating for us as well as for the residents. But we need to continue to work with them to see good results.”

Simone also said she attended a recent meeting about a countywide plan to consolidate waste collection across most of Broward’s municipalities.

She said Margate has agreed to participate in a countywide, million-dollar study to determine how much the countywide program would cost, how much waste each municipality produces, and to hash out the program’s logistics, including whether a new county waste facility is needed.

Republic has not responded to a message seeking comment.

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Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.