Newark Recycling Department

They throw the garbage and recycling into the same truck. Nothing gets recycled. I've talked to every person in the department about this and nobody seems to care.

They don’t pick up the phone and did not pick up recycling. I guess they want us to just mix everything together cause they seem worthless.

Recycling pick up is VERY “hit or miss”. They will pick up on the even numbered side of the street, but neglect the odd numbered side of the street (even though I put out recycling as required. Bottles/cans in the proper container, and cardboard broken down and wrapped in twine, etc.). Even numbered side never does any of these things!

Constantly having to call, to report non-pickup, or incomplete pickup.

When they do pickup, half of the recycling items are left in the street, and the recycling cans are thrown everywhere (middle of the street, in front of others houses, etc.). I have to hunt down where my cans are, to place back on my property. Horrible!! Newark taxes are too high for such horrendous services we pay for!!

Low customer service quality. You call three times asking for information about a service and you receive three different answers.

I'm the home owner and my items are always neatly put out me or my tenants have to call often to ask why recyclables have not been picked up. They pick up other houses. The females that answer the phone are rude. Friday 7/24/20 the recyclables were not picked up.

They throw yes throw the can to the side walk and it’s my 5th can I buy they need to be more organized and put the can on the side u don’t see us leaving the can on the floor so they can bend over and pick up the bottles how they fee sloppy work l

Moved into a new residence January of this year (2019) Her it is May and the department has yet to pick up my recycling. I have called every Tuesday and Friday (since January) to inquire why and to ask if perchance there is something that doing wrong. The last that I spoke with (Deborah or Brenda, I cannot recall her right name) was very polite and informative but did tell me that i am following the department's protocol for recycling. I have since stopped calling because still no one from the department of recycling has come out to pick up. Meanwhile, I have a hefty collection of plastic, glass, and aluminium cluttering up the area alongside the property. As detrimental to the environment not recycling of I have begun to just include my recyclables in with the regular trash. I love my city and can recall a time that people
would call it the sewer of the Tri state. Even though we've come a long way from those days it's disheartening that the neglect of certain department personnel can revert us back to the sewer this city once was alleged to be.

For an entire year I was not told about how to recycle my paper/cardboard and plastic. They picked up my recycling on a regular basis. Then they starting skipping weeks for pickup. I called the department about this and it took them a few weeks to come out to pick up my recycling. Only then was I told that I was not using the proper cans (for a whole year I used my own cans and they had no problem with it) , that I needed to wrap my cardboard (for a whole year I did not do this and they did not have a problem) and that I needed to bag my plastic in clear bags (for a whole year I did not do this and they did not have a problem). I was told that I need to comply, but I only knew about the compliance protocol after an entire year. The lack of communication is astounding. If they had a problem with the way I was recycling, why did it take a whole year to tell me, and to start ceasing my recycling pickup?

Update 10/24/18

Recycling has consistently missed my pickup at least once every week for a about 2 months straight. I called the department about my missed pickup on Tuesday (I'm in Zone B and pickup was scheduled to be picked up on 10/23/18). I received a knock on my door around 9 AM. People from the recycling department were at my door and had their supervisor on the phone to tell me that I cannot put my cardboard in my blue cans. Other people on my street put their cardboard in cans and it gets picked up consistently. I was told that I need to tie up my cardboard. Not a single person on my street ties up their cardboard, yet it is picked up. Instead of making themselves accountable for consistently failing to pick up my recycling, the Recycling Department will go as far as to get the supervisor on the phone to tell me how this is my fault, and mine alone.