Waste Pro suing Cape Coral for missed payments during period the city claims people were left without service

Reporter: Zach Oliveri Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:
Waste Pro truck gathering trash. (CREDIT: WINK News)

Waste Pro is suing the City of Cape Coral for not paying their bill after people living in the area say they were left without service for weeks.

Trash was piling up so much that the city stepped in to help and didn’t pay its contract with Waste Pro citing the company’s failure to complete its service.

Bags of garbage lined the streets in Cape Coral. Even furniture was left behind. As the trash grew, so did most everyone’s frustration with Waste Pro. Just ask the people who live there. “Missed pickups. Trash all over the place,” said Jose Torna of Cape Coral.

“It started out as some nonperformance and became more nonperformance and just became worst and worse,” said Sam Yaffty of Cape Coral.

How Cape Coral responded to that nonperformance is now at the center of a civil lawsuit filed by Waste Pro. The company accuses the city of assessing damages outside the scope of its contract.

In the lawsuit, Waste Pro argues that the city calculated damages based on each complaint rather than failing to complete an entire route.

“All of those other issues that came it was really in their own doing because they did not do their job,” said Torna.

In May 2021, Waste Pro says the city’s damages totaled more than $1.1 million. That is more than the $980,000 that the city owed Waste Pro that month.

“It seems like Waste Pro is not interested in getting the job done. They’re just interested in saving face,” said Yaffty.

Torna said he wishes the city did more to punish Waste Pro. Now he hopes there’s a solution. “Let’s come to a fair understanding and hold them accountable for the services they promised to provide and did not,” said Torna.

WINK News reached out to Waste Pro for comment. Waste Pro declined, saying, “This matter is currently in litigation and as such, it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.”

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