Recology

Wow. Worst phone service ever. They force you to get a callback by repeating the same message over and over again to drive you crazy while you’re on hold. Then, the phone rings twice and hangs up when they actually do call back 45 minutes later. THEN, when you call them back they force you to sit through another recording only to then inform you that for some undisclosed reason your call cannot be completed. Tried to call back now 3 frickin’ times to report my recycling can stolen. Guess I’m shit outta luck. Get it together people it’s 2016, there is no reason to have such faulty customer service over the phone. Or I guess I should say NO customer service. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to get a new recycling can from this stone aged mismanaged company.

Unfair prices are charged here.
I was charged twice as much for a soil disposal as Blue Line Dump.

Have not picked up my cardboard in 3 weeks. When I call they say they can’t come until tomorrow, then tomorrow comes but they don’t. They have a monopoly so you can’t go with someone else. If you elect to not use the bins you get fined. Its the holidays and I have cardboard cluttering ever workstation on the production floor. I’m going to have to drive to the dump (and pay) on the day we ship cyber Monday. I do my job do yours, NOW.

As far as I’m concerned these guys (especially Joe who answered the phone) are absolute angels! We were visiting from out of state, helping our son move to San Fran, and had no idea how to quickly get rid of/​donate a love seat that wouldn’t fit in his apartment, as well as 6 huge boxes filled with (barely used) packing paper. Recology whisked it all away early the next morning — hallelujah! I learned from their Web site renters are offered one free pick up per year; we are SO grateful for their prompt, efficient, and courteous service!!!

They are a monopoly and it costing us more money than it should.
Check out

Beware. You can call Recology to pick up some track. When they come, make sure that you’re at home, with a witness and set up 30 security cameras to record what they will do. These people won’t mind driving their big truck on top of the sidewalk, break it, and flee. You can see that they are used to perform hit and runs. You can call them to file a complain. They will send you to their own insurance company that will deny the claim because there was no proof that they damaged the sidewalk

This is for anyone, like myself, who has been unfortunate to not be working and saw Recology’s bill insert ad about applying for a discounted Lifeline rate. Foolishly believing that this monopoly would be willing to help someone in my situation I decided to submit the one page application. First of all the application was misleading the way it was structured. It has now been revised and asks more specific questions.
Recology requested my proof of income which is a very small interest income. I made the necessary bank statement copies and mailed them to Recology. They promptly rejected my application citing that my bank statements had a different mailing address (my former address which is my parents’ residence) from my Recology account’s address. Next they wanted to see the bank statements with my Recology account address. How in the world would I be able to do that in good time? In fact, it is not even necessary. Many people have mailing addresses that are different from their residential addresses for their own personal reasons! No explanation that because I have joint accounts with my parents with my name being first and, thus, meaning I’m the primary accountholder (and certainly meaning I would be the one to report this income on my tax return) made any difference to them. They are robotic. They go by the book. The bank statements’ mailing address has to be the same as the Recology account’s address.
I assume the application was rejected as I got no further reply (all communication was done via email) after my trying to explain to them about how the two addresses should not hinder my application being accepted. This excudes how unprofessional their customer service is. These admins. are ignorant and heartless on top of being highly ignorant. And as for the person the A/​R manager (she’s the one approving Lifeline applications) gives the dirty job of communicating to the applicant? She has such poor English grammar skills it is really shocking how Recology hires such a person to communicate with the public.
Recology is a monopoly and exerts its control over the public. That is bad enough, but to have heartless, ignorant administrators working for this company is even worse. I suppose they are truly glad that they did not approve my Lifeline application. Well, I just hope they are in my (and others’) situation jobwise someday and will request a helping hand only to be rejected for no good reason.

So I went to the dumpsite with a small load. Even though the load was 6 boxes that fit inside my car, I paid $ 28. No problem. The PROBLEM was that when driving through their premises, a piece of metal pierced through my tire and destroyed it. I had to pull over on tunnel street less than a block away and I couldn’t even get home without changing my tire. I was furious that Recology couldn’t keep their areas safe for my vehicle.
So I immediately called them up and being that they destroyed my tire, I simply asked them to refund my $ 28. They absolutely refused because somehow it was my fault. Recology DUMP: I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH YOU AGAIN. I hope it was worth the $ 28.

Garbage Drop-​Off
Easy access, but not an intuitive lay-​out. For a first-​timer, found that I had to concentrate very carefully on the few signs and verbal instructions, or else I’d drive the wrong way (which happened twice)… because, again, the traffic flow is not intuitive at all.
Free drop-​off of paint and random home/​auto fluids, but only Thurs-​Sat.
$ 28 for mini-​van full of random junk.

Sadly, recent sleazy behavior prompts me to re-​set my previous high marks for Recology/​Sunset Scavenger.
I noticed on my bill that for at least six months Recology had been charging me for three blue bins when I only have two. A call to customer service confirmed I had been charged for three bins but they needed to confirm that on my pick-​up day. No word back. I call again. They said I did indeed have only two bins but they would only credit me one month. I elevate to a supervisor and she reiterated that they would only credit me one month, even though it was their error and they had charged me incorrectly for months. This is sleazy. It is their error, not mine.
With a normal business, there would be recourse to fix this, but it appears that Recology’s monopoly status gives the consumer little voice. Recology just does not care.
This is just wrong. Does anyone know where to register a complaint with the city or state?

Despite this being an establishment based on things you no longer care about, the folks at Recology care A LOT, and it’s amazing. Nothing but great experiences with my city dump. That is some sh*t to be proud of.
First off, one of the most integrated and enforced recycling, compost, and landfill sorting program I can imagine. I love separating my trash now, because thanks to Recology I know how to do it! They offer a program where a representative comes to your office to educate folks on what bit goes in what bin. You’d think it’s a no brainer, but I’m one of those people that sees a plastic bag in the compost bin and rolls my eyes. Thanks for caring enough to tell us how to toss our crap!
I recently tried their «recycle my junk» pick up. Make an appointment online, and that giant (probably moldy) box spring in your garage can be a thing of the past. Fo’ free!
Last but certainly not least, our dump has an artist residency program. Our dump has an artist residency program. I’ll say it again so it sinks in. Our dump has an artist residency program. So let me amend my earlier observation and say we have the most integrated recycle, compost, landfill and transformed artwork waste programs I can imagine.
You go San Francisco.

Thank you for picking up my junk. The Ikea particle board furniture that cannot be repaired fixed or donated. Old water hoses with holes, an old broken futon frame. Thank you for sending a truck to pickup the junk like garbage service. Thank you for Recycle My Junk being a free service. I have 9 more times I can call this year if I need to. Thank you.

Art at the dump is anything but garbage at Recology. Go to the artist in residence art shows.
They have rotating artists that have access to anything at the dump. The art challenges the public to look at how they consume and see the possibilities of re-​purposing. Check the website to see when the next show is. They also serve wine and appetizers. During the show they have a table of goods that are up for grabs if you promise to give them a second life. After all one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

The customer service reps who are supposed to schedule curbside appliance pick ups are utterly incompetent liars. If you forget to email me a pick up time, just admit your mistake. Don’t lie to me and tell me your email went into my spam folder. You do know I can check that, right? Don’t try to make your f*ck up my fault.

Someone should sue these guys for harassment. For the first time in a long time my can was full and didn’t close all the way (which I could have pushed it in more) and this Schmuck gives me another ticket. I don’t even put my can out most weeks. Merry F-​cking Christmas to you too!

Yes I am reviewing a hazardous waste pickup service and rating it higher than restaurants with professionally-​trained chefs and staff.
Why?
Because from start to finish the interactions and results were friendly, professional, non-​obtrusive and headache-​free. From the clear website, to dispatch to the confirmation phone calls (day before and at arrival) this was a really great experience. They took the paint and solvents, they asked appropriate questions and provided me guidance on some items going forward.

This place is trashy.
Literally.
Seriously this is a 5 star experience, which is saying a lot for a place where the only food is rotting, the aroma is overpowering, and the décor is made from the detritus of San Francisco life. I’ve been here to hand off household hazardous waste (recycling paint) and it was super easy. I loaded old half full paint cans in my trunk, and drove up. A nice gentleman in a lab coat looked at my ID (proof of SF residence) took the stuff out of my car himself, had me sign a paper, and off I went. I did not have to leave my car. Super easy.
Other junk dropoffs are similarly easy. People are friendly and while driving around can be confusing, the signage is pretty good.
You should also look out for the art made from trash. They have an artist in residence and some of the sculptures are actually interesting… very san francisco.

The Recycle My Junk program is probably the best way to get rid of unwanted furniture in this town short of sneakily leaving your stuff on a street corner. I knew my dear old couch was too ugly to be donated and I had no idea what to do with it until a friend recommended calling Recology. Three minutes later, I had scheduled a free pick-​up. My roommate and I dragged the monster downstairs one night and by 7:30am the next morning, it was gone.
Thank you for making my life a little easier!

Today was an example of why I voted to keep Recology as San Francisco’s waste collection company even though generally I oppose non-​competitive contracts for government.
I am laid low with the the flu and yesterday I forgot to put out not only the bins for my building but those of 3 other neighbors who pay me to do it for their buildings as well.
A quick call to their local office (where I spoke to an actual human in under 2 minutes) and they agreed to send the guy, who was still out on his route, back by for collection.
Would this have happened if it was not a local company?
Perhaps, but my experience with large corporations makes me highly doubtful.
Local people, doing a nasty local job, for local customers, makes every penny well spent.
I realize this is the space for a review of their recycling center and not their pick up services but I just wanted to say something nice.
Thanks, Recology/​Sunset Scavenger!

The time had come to be free of our e-​waste and dead batteries. We piled everything in the trunk of the car and made our way over. We pulled in, got incredibly confused by the signs and were directed to the appropriate section by a lovely and patient gentleman.
We drove to the designated station, gave some information, were handed a form, and directed to another location. After handing over our form, we went to the electronic waste section, popped the truck, and that was it! We were done.
We handed our form to one more person who waved us on and wished us a good day. Dropping off e-​waste with bunch of incredibly friendly people for the total sum of $ 0; A good day, indeed!