Inspector general says Palm Beach County lost out on trash fees

Palm Beach County lost out on $111,811 in disposal fees and local businesses were overbilled by a trash-hauling company that trucked Boca Raton waste to Broward County, according to a government watchdog report released Monday.

Palm Beach County Inspector General Sheryl Steckler's inquiry found that Republic Services Inc. between February 2011 and May 2012 took waste collected in Boca Raton to its facilities in Broward, despite having a contract to dump the waste at Palm Beach County's facilities.

The inspector general's office also found that Republic overbilled Home Depot, Best Buy, Office Max and other businesses in Boca Raton by about $9,000 for disposal and hauling.

Steckler in her report called for Republic to repay the county and the effected businesses.

The Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority intends to pursue repayment from Republic and implement tougher contract oversight suggested by the inspector general.

Republic disputes the inspector general's findings. The company contends that the waste taken from Boca Raton to its Broward disposal site wasn't subject to the Solid Waste Authority's disposal charges. The company also maintains that it did not overbill the Boca Raton businesses.

In April, Waste Management Inc. reached a settlement with the Solid Waste Authority and agreed to pay a more than $700,000 penalty for trucking Boca Raton trash to Broward County instead of hauling it to the Palm Beach County landfill.