COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. – Waste Pro USA Inc. filed suit in Columbia County on Wednesday, saying county procurement errors in a recent bid for trash collection services could cost residents millions and that correcting the math would save taxpayers about $2.3 million over a five-year contract.
The company said the county issued an Invitation to Bid for collection services that is intended to award the contract to the responsive bidder offering the lowest price. Waste Pro contends it was the clear low bidder for residential services and that awarding the contract to the recommended hauler instead of Waste Pro would forgo annual savings of 16.12 percent for residents.
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Waste Pro alleged county staff grossly miscalculated commercial bid prices, skewing the total bid results in favor of another company. The company said the tabulated commercial cost was nearly 900 percent higher than the actual 2025 cost.
When Waste Pro appealed the tabulation, the company said, the county manager denied the appeal, leaving Waste Pro to seek relief in court.
“County staff made obvious errors that will cost residents millions,” Ralph Mills, senior vice president, said in a statement. “It is disappointing that the folks whose job it is to ensure the lowest price is paid did nothing to correct their clear mistake. Waste Pro has served this community for too long to sit back and watch residents pay the price for county staff’s incompetence.”
Waste Pro said it has been Columbia County’s waste collection partner for more than 15 years. The company’s local office has been in the county for almost two decades, and nearly 90 percent of its local staff live there, the company said.
Waste Pro operates in 12 southeastern states and is one of the country’s fastest-growing privately owned waste collection, recycling, processing and disposal companies. It employs more than 5,600 workers and serves more than 2 million residential and about 100,000 commercial customers from roughly 140 operating locations.
The company is headquartered in Longwood, Florida, and holds about 260 municipal contracts and franchises.