Waste Management of Alameda County

Regarding city of Oakland’s Waste Management contract: Here’s what you DON’T KNOW. For ONE UNPAID GARBAGE BILL, the city can put a lien on your home, evidently with no obligation to notify you. That lien will prevent you from refinancing or even selling your home. On WM’s end, what a wonderful arrangement! WM has no bill collection costs or issues. Either you pay up or the city pays for you, and they slap on lien on the property. I guarantee you may pay up to FOUR TIMES THE ORIGINAL BILL by the end, or more. How?
Here’s what happened to me: Lost or forgot to pay ONE 2011 WM BILL of $ 61.89. City paid WM for me $ 61.89. WM then sends you next bill with zero balance; you’re none the wiser what’s going on. Cut to refinancing mortgage in 2016: Title search shows lien for $ 131.89 (how we got to this amt from $ 61.89 is not known). City says I must also pay $ 125 before they will allow me to pay off $ 131.89 lien. To wit, total is then $ 256.89, FOUR TIMES THE ORIGINAL BILL. Further history is: As property owner, I have lived in the same home for 20 or more years, with no other credit problems. I am NOT a deadbeat etc.
Why hasn’t city of Oakland notified me since 2011? Lien dept (238‑7474) says there are «too many liens» to notify everyone. Really? That’s your excuse? You always manage to bill me and receive payment on my property taxes every year. If anyone wants to check for these liens on line, go to
, find Clerk-​Recorders Office.
I’ll try to update this review as I’m afraid it’s possible the bill-​padding with Oakland hasn’t stopped with the story above. Just read another on-​line complaint that mentions a $ 50 Demand Letter (what they call the hoop to jump just to have the privilege of paying lien off) and a $ 60 fee to remove the lien. That might then total me at $ 366.89, possibly SIX TIMES the original bill.
Now I realize why they both love the arrangement: WM no bill collection; Oakland creates a new stream of income.

Our pickup service is every Wednesday. I waited until 12 than realize that WM driver came by already. Some cans were empty and some were full. I called Customer Service and they explain don’t know why ours was not picked up and they will send message to driver. Customer Service tells me to leave can and they will get before 6 pm. I went to work and when I got back by 9 pm. My bin was not empty but the worst was that some A&&@&$e left their trash in my bin, too. Where I live the neighbor is not that great and the neighbor do things that are not ethical. WM said free week and I explain I just want my can to be picked up and they explain driver can’t come until next week. Not sure why take pictures of the recycle can and put that as a note. It’s not even our week for recycle bin anyway. Why is that my fault when some else don’t know the schedule. Customer service is customer service and they can’t do anything and just relay message to or write up a complaint. This is 8^th time complaining about issue so fed up that I should just vent on Unilocal.They are not going to do anything.

Abysmal service. They just raised our bill 30% and ever since, they have been sloppier and ruder than ever. I have a lot of respect for the folks that pick up our trash, when it’s done right. They consistently leave behind garbage either in the can (emptying it half way) or leave the whole can. One week they took our can with them and didn’t give us another waste container until we called three times and threatened to go to the city council here.
I’m disabled, it’s the holidays and I have limited income, so it’s not like I can just afford to have someone come over here and pick up extra trash and bring it to the dump, and I shouldn’t have to, being it’s the most expensive garbage «service» I’ve ever paid for.
Phone reps seem to be brain dead or don’t get that garbage sitting outside in a drought means lots and lots of critters and ants, again, stuff I am physically and financially unable to deal with. They keep saying «Yes, we have a record you called. I left a note for the supervisor». NO follow up, no results. Just keep taking my money.
Garbage pick-​up comes at the crack of dawn with a bunch of rowdy guys playing the radio at top volume at 6 in the morning; cans left willy-​nilly all over the street/​blocking driveways, wherever they land. Now my spouse feels they have to go out and supervise them to make sure they actually take the garbage.
Today I wrote the CEO and sent a copy to the mayor. Not that I’m expecting anything to change, but I’m desperate at this point.

Horrible customer service… Horrible service… All over just horrible. Missed my extra pick up 2x and wow guess what it’s trash day again tomorrow so I don’t need the damn extra pick up then.

Can we give a negative 100 stars? This really puts sanitation workers to shame. The first incident is they didn’t bother to pick up our blue bin but they want to make sure we recycle. I had to call & email for them to pick it up. Next issue is they ask to have cardboard boxes broken down. That’s not a problem. Problem is when you do what they ask & they still don’t pick it up but send emails asking if it’s been picked up after I had to reach out to them. 5 full days later & still no pick up. How hard can it be & what are we paying them for? Not only is the driver lazy but the driver says the cardboard wasn’t broken down & left a bin knocked down in the street & drove off. I guess CV is really improving (sarcasm). Why would I lie about something as simple as breaking down cardboard boxes? Really sad. They should rename their company management waste.

I would also give a negative review if possible. This organization lies to your face. Twice they have done this to me. First, they sell, pre-​paid garbage bags. These are supposed to be left out with your trash on pick up day. They threw my pre-​paid bags aside and did the normal pick up. I called, they told me they would be out that night to pick up the bags (lie). I called the next day, same thing. This went on for almost a week when I came home and found the bag strewn over my lawn.
Second incident. They will do what is known as a ‘bulky pick up’ once a year. I dutifully put the trash out, they didn’t pick it up. The driver noted that they tried to call me (no mention that I was sitting 20 feet away in my living room). No missed calls on my cell. If they didn’t have a monopoly they wouldn’t have my business. They told me that it would be picked up in 24 – 48 hours (love leaving trash in my yard for 3 days).
I don’t believe them. As I said before, they lie to your face.

2 weeks now they’ve skipped my house. Next week I’m going to have to stand in the street and block the truck until I get answers I guess.

They have missed pickups off and on for years, but that alone isn’t a big problem. They say once you report the missed pickup, they will either be back the same day, or the following. I have followed their reporting procedures to the letter. I have never had them pick up a ‘missed pickup’ for 8 years. They ‘promise’ they will be there by 7pm… The say they send an urgent call to their drivers. Bottom line. Friendly customer serviced reps, but no follow through. Broken system? Drivers aren’t penalized for missed pickups?
If I could, I would use with another company, but, they are a monopoly here.
Like other large monopolistic companys (like cable companies), you are just a number.

If I could give negative stars I would. This company is horrible. Just plain horrible. I called them and set up my contract with them. I was supposed to get my garbage bins on Friday. I called Friday morning to confirm that it would be delivered THAT day — they confirmed, promising no later than 6pm on Friday. 6pm — no delivery. I try calling but, of course, they are closed. I left a message. No call back on Monday, so I call them… again. A representative promises to get it fixed, and further promises to call me back before the end of business today (I had to ask for that courtesy). No call back… again. And, still no bins. Why do I have to keep calling for you to uphold our contract for which you are already billing me? Why do I, the customer, have to micromanage you to provide the services already promised? Why am I paying for your services!!!

Sadly to say, I am sorely displeased with my service. I called on Monday, July 6^th for my annual extra bulk pickup (of which I am due) for that Thursday from my 4^th of July event. I was told I had to wait to the following Thursday pickup. Why I had to wait an additional week when I called on a Monday prior to my pickup I don’t know. I told the operator I don’t know if I could wait that long but to keep the following week’s bulk pickup request just in case. Low and behold, yesterday my extra garbage was not picked up. I was told the lady annotated that I decided not get the pick up because I felt it was too long of a wait. I informed them that was not my conversation and they told me they could pull the recording to confirm — still waiting to hear back on what their finds were. Regardless I would have to wait until the following week.
I did let them know I have maggots, ants and flies since the garbage has been sitting out from the 4^th of July and that I felt it was a health issue. I was politely informed regardless of the posed health issue I still had to wait until the following week. I then asked if they can provide me customer service and allow me this one time pick up since they had record to show that I did call. I was informed they would contact the routing manager and see if it’s possible but no guarantee that my garbage would be picked up. In either case, I would get a call to confirm whether or not a pick up would occur. That was early this morning around 8:10 — 8:15am. It is now 7:13 pm and guess what? No call and of course, no garbage pickup. All I can say is they have poor customer service. Better yet, they do not have customer service. And just to think, they sent me a survey immediately after I spoke with customer service that Monday, July 6^th and I ranked them high (I guess I really thought I was going to get what I asked for). I did not get one this time. I sure would love to fill it out now.

I wish there were minus stars for this company. Their drivers are rude and hostile to customers, throw garbage all over our street and throw the cans wherever. Now a huge fee increase adds insult to injury. I am forced by the city to use them. We were not notified of the enormous increase and certainly not asked to vote on it. It simply appeared on my bills today. I would haul the trash myself if I could get out of their grip.

That one star is for the kind person that finally brought a new trash to my home, because he noticed my case and lives around my neighborhood. Thanks a lot neighbor! after weeks of waiting, phone calls, accumulated trash and asking my neighbors for some space on their trash bins! Phone customer service was horrid, promised to call me back, nothing, I talked to supervisors and such, made no difference. Last week at the Earth event downtown Oakland I saw their table and I approached the ladies there and said: I am sorry but you have the worst customer service and she replied: oh! That is gonna change! Because we are adding customer service that speaks Spanish … I looked at her and said: language was not my problem. (she apologized) but Just that sentence explained how able they are to listening to their customers!

Will not replace my trash can that mysteriously went missing on pick up day three weeks ago.
Leaves trash cans in the street every week.
Spills trash from all over the neighborhood and does not pick it up.
Would not pick up my green bin, because trash can was within two feet of it. Okay, I assume there is a reason for that, but I’d never heard of that rule before the day they just decided to put a sticker on my green bin instead of emptying it.

I wish I could give a no star rating. This is the worst waste disposal service I’ve ever experienced. We’ve only lived in their service area for 6 months. In that time we’ve had them miss picking up our cans 4 times and refuse to pickup cardboard several more times. I’ve submitted formal complaints and it’s done nothing. They hire horrible drivers and have no accountability. If we ever get to vote on a different service provider, I’m ready to move on and I’ll pay more for better service.

This would be a negative star if possible. Yet again WM has proven they are the unscrupulous money hungry, lazy extortionists that they are. WM tells me I’m required to pay for twice as many cans as I need for my small 4-​plex than I need or have room for. Again I must bend over and take it because they say so! It’s no wonder the City of Oakland was trying to ditch you and your evil ways. But how else are those WM execs going to keep getting their fat bonuses and kickbacks! I don’t know how Unilocal is giving them an average of 3 stars when everyone keeps giving them 1 star — another corrupt kickback??? Your government at work for ya…

There is no list that I can find on what can go into a residential Green Bin but youd think a green bin is a green bin, and here is the only list that I can find on what can go in it:
Waste Management leaves our street littered with Trash and refuses to pick up bins while not providing information on what can go in them. I got a notice that mine was contaminated, but it had only things on the list above, potting soil and milk cartons and other food waste… with a note saying no dirt (it is clearly potting soil not dirt). The person on the phone was unable to point me to a list online for residential green bins (but why should it matter do they have a business composting and separate residential composting area, I doubt it).

Took 3 weeks and 5 phone calls to get my recycling bin fixed. I call, they’d tell me someone will be out to fix it, and it never happens. The route manager was suppose to call and follow up with me, never happened. I flattened, bundled and placed a bunch of cardboard boxes next to my bin as per instructions. They emptied the regular recycle and ignored the flat boxes. Reading the reviews here, I wonder if I should bother with bulk pick up. Their website don’t even have a place to file a complaint.
Thanks for nuthin waste management.

Very poor service. I’m very angry because you can’t pick up my sliding door mirrors. Yah, it’s against your bulky policy. It’s consider a garbage that I need to get rid off. Its not chemical and you guys should be trained on how to get rid of this kind of mirrors. It’s hazardous to my kid who likes to play outside. It’s disgusting to hear waste management when you want to raise the fee! You’re service is very poor!

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Sure, Waste Management has a lot of eco friendly options to dispose of trash (a green bucket for food scraps that can be dumped into the yard waste bin, the ability to put food-​soiled paper into said bins, you can recycle pretty much anything), but they are very sloppy when picking it up. They will often leave the smaller garbage cans tipped over. I’ve even seen garbage cans sitting in the middle of the street or sidewalk. They also leave bits and pieces of trash along the street, including chicken bones, (which my dog loves to pick up while on walks) and even a piece of a debit card (yup. That’s why you should cut them up before you dispose of them).
The rain makes it much worse. My family bought a smaller trash can to save money and they will sometimes leave the lid with the concave side up so it collects rain water. Other times, they won’t turn the can upside down or put the lids on the trash cans so they don’t collect rain water. We’ve called numerous times to complain about it, but nothing has changed.
They never come to our neighborhood too early, which is good. I hate getting woken up by loud garbage trucks in the morning («Oh, you’re trying to sleep? Let me play you the song of my people.»)
They also have bulky waste pickup days, which is nice if you don’t want to drive your useless junk somewhere to dispose of it.

Waste Management is a vast bureaucracy. if ur trash doesn’t get picked up on time, the «operater» can call the trucks to go pick it up if they are still on their routes.
if it’s a holiday, it will be a day to two later.
i love the days when they will pick up anything (kitchen sinks, beds, computers, etc.) saves me a trip to the dump and some $$. don’t know what days they are. when the neighbors start piling up their junk on the sidewalk, i take out my junk too. (so to speak.)
trash pickup is like death and taxes, it’s inevitable and it comes sooner or later…