St. Paul has April 1 deadline to solve trash company's land dispute | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
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St. Paul has April 1 deadline to solve trash company's land dispute

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Published  March 26, 2025 7:01pm CDT
St. Paul
FOX 9

Vadnais Heights, Minnesota. Garbage truck hauler picking up the trash bins lined up alongside the road. (Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The Brief

    • St. Paul residents won't have their garbage collected starting April 1 if the city can't reach an agreement with a new hauler on land for a facility.
    • The St. Paul City Council voted unanimously against FCC Environmental using land at 560 Randolph St. for a garbage facility.
    • Mayor Melvin Carter could declare a state of emergency to keep the garbage pick-up going.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The City of St. Paul has five days to figure out a garbage hauler service's land agreement, or residents will have nobody to take away their trash.

City officials had a plan to use land at 560 Randolph Street to store and service their garbage trucks, but the city council voted unanimously against that last week.

The deadline

Why you should care:

If Mayor Melvin Carter and the city can’t reach a resolution, there will be no garbage pick-up for residents starting April 1. That’s no joke on April Fool’s Day.

City council members voted 5-0 to block the garbage company, FCC Environmental, from putting its truck yard on the lot they bought in the summer of 2024. The hauler services about 60,000 residents across the city.

Angry residents

Dig deeper:

The city council’s vote came after neighborhood residents complained the trash company’s facility would harm long-term plans for residential, mixed-use and transit development in the area. Carter told city council members in a letter that the vote blocking the use of the land creates the possibility for a breach of contract with the garbage hauler.

That would result in lawyers getting involved, and no trash service. Carter says he hasn’t ruled out declaring a state of emergency to make sure garbage hauling continues.

City Council fires back

What we know:

St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker said at last week’s meeting the lot shouldn’t be for a trash yard because of its zoning, which is currently "light industrial." The site would be busy with three dozen heavy trucks in operation.

Carter contends city officials determined the land was appropriate for a truck facility, comparing it to public works. The city council president says it would see more heavy truck traffic than a public works facility.

Garbage hauler speaks

What they're saying:

Officials with FCC Environmental said the city plans for residential development near the site haven’t come together, and there are no grounds to deny using the land.

Carter wants the city council to call an emergency meeting to hold another vote. 

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