The case of the disappearing recycle bins…

[Duckitude]

Hi All: I remember some posts from not too long ago about missing recycle bins. I generally don’t complain much, but, since the new WM took over, several folks on my block have had the poorest service ever. Tons of missed pickups and several missing bins after pickup.

Well, as far as the missed bins go, I know where at least one went on January 11. The guy threw the entire bin into the truck, making it trash, and, of course, did not order a replacement for us. Wonder what that is all about? Me too. I called to see if that would be a standard practice, and apparently not.

Go figure.

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[celeste17]

Ours went missing a few weeks ago and I called and got a replacement bin. I think the new bins aren’t as wide or as deep as the old ones. By the time two weeks is up I am just about overflowing in my recycle bin (hardly ever got that full before.

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[Que]

We have had the exact experience that Celeste17 talks about. Our bin dissappeared, we called and got replaced, a smaller bin was delivered and now it is overflowing by the time it is pickup time. Grrr.

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[Magpie]

This happened to me, too. Came home and the recycle bin was missing so I called the number on my solid waste statement..turns out the old green ones get broken in the machinery and they just take them away without letting you know. The woman on the phone asked for my address and since recycle bins are free, I asked for two and voila!, in about 2-3 days, I had 2 shiny new blue ones with my address on them. If yours was a green one, I’m betting that’s what happened. You just need to call and order a new one.

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[Duckitude]

I have been checking further on the issue. I am not sure the bin was broken. I did not see the operator take the time to note if it was broken. The latest information I got was that since they use a lift for recycle bins and not for regular trash, that apparently the lifts on the new trash trucks are NOT compatible with the older bins… so, they either are too much work for some of the workers (um, those would be the lazy ones) or they get broken by the new lift mechanism because it isn’t compatible.

Fact is, they are replacing the older bins at a fairly high rate, but only after you contact them. So, they decide to trash the bin but don’t automatically order a replacement. In actuality, such a procedure is rude at best, since prior to me documenting exactly what was happening, several of my neighbors actually spent a fair amount of time trying to locate their “misplaced” bins.

In addition, if the plan is to replace all the older bins over time with bins that are “compatible” with the new trucks, purchased, I suppose, without testing them to see if they were compatible (or, who cares..). Truth is, if that is the scenario and we have subsidized another set of bureaucratic stupidity, then someone is making a windfall profit on blue replacement bins.

The other issue is that the blue bins are by all reports smaller. I haven’t received the replacement bin yet two days after the request was made for one, so can’t say for sure, but will let you know.

My guess is that someone messed up when the trucks were speced out and now they are informally replacing bins at their whim rather than on a larger scale, or even announcing it, because, well, maybe it is embarrassing.

Or, maybe there is some other explanation. Wondering why your fees are going up? For one thing, you are apparently collectively buying lots of new bins… my guess. I could be entirely wrong about this, but, again, service so far is the worst ever and trashing a bin without automatically replacing it is a great example of such a non-service attitude. Not like we didn’t know SPU has a history of shall we say “under performing”

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[Ken]

The guy on my route refuses to open the lid before trying to dump the can. He has broken one several months ago as I watched and I demanded the same kind and size.

So he leaves a notice to take the recycle out of the bag for “sorting”. If they now demand loose recycles it is news to me and should have been noted on the many circulars they have sent over the last year.

That might be the “incompatibility” they are breaking the cans over.

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[Duckitude]

Ken: Not sure if you are using “incompatibility” to describe the issue of “no bags with recyclables in them” or to describe the “incompatibility” of the worker and his work…

I have seen them put the old bins on the lift different ways, sometimes with the hinge facing the street, sometimes with the hinge facing into the truck. Seems to me, and I am no engineer, that the stresses on the lid would be quite different dumping the trash over the top of the lid if the bin is placed on the lift with the hinge facing into the truck or maybe it’s worse doing it the other way… Like I said, I am still not clear what the “problem” is, whether it is a way of getting rid of the older bins, a real problem with breaking older bins no matter how you place them on the lift, a lift that wasn’t designed for the older bins, or what… don’t know, but seems incredibly poorly designed lift or poorly instructed workers, or something like that. Oh well, it’s just another cost covered by the lowly end user…

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[EmmyJane]

So we moved into a new house 41 days ago (I counted for complaining purposes) and signed up for services online. In that time, they have made two trips to our house… one to take the yard waste bin (I have no idea why, I wanted it) and one to take the old trash can (which was supposed to be replaced with a smaller one). I called Monday- holiday. I called Tuesday- Furlough. I called Wednesday, 10 minute wait, to be told that “oh, it takes a lot longer online, we’ll put in a work order and you’ll have new bins in 5 days.” So I say “I assume you’re not going to charge me for yard waste services seeing as we haven’t had a bin and she says “oh we can’t refund you, you had the option to call and tell us we missed pick up” to which I replyed “pick up WHAT? I DON’T HAVE A BIN.” So she tells me I can put my yard waste out in bags and she’ll make a special note for them to come pick it up. So they come pick it up and I get a nasty-gram about putting my yard waste in garbage bags. Jeez.

So three trips to my house and they’ve managed to take our bins but not drop any off.

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[KBear]

Did you use plastic garbage bags or compostable paper yard waste bags? That might be the reason for the nastygram. Paper bags are perfectly acceptable.

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[EmmyJane]

I used plastic, but the lady on the phone said I could…

Ok, it wasn’t exactly “nasty”. More like, FYI, we picked it up because this was a special case but you can’t pull this crap regularly… :-)

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