Frustrated Raleigh residents waiting weeks for recycle pickup

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Raleigh resident Nina Capriglilne told ABC11 that she has been waiting for her recycle bins to be picked up consistently for the past eight weeks.

"At this point, it is kind of getting out of hand," she said. "Last Friday (July 10), they were supposed to pick up and they didn't."

The City divides recycle pickup in eight different zones throughout Raleigh every Tuesday through Friday.

Residents are then split between an "A" schedule and a "B" schedule. The City contacted some "A" schedule residents a couple months ago and switched them to a "B." Capriglilne was one of them. Her home sits in a neighborhood near Peace University.

"We're trying to be really understanding because it is COVID and everything that is going on. But we do pay for them to come," Capriglilne said. "But they told us it's because we're down an alleyway that they keep missing us. But our entire neighborhood -- our entire recycling is down alleyways."

Trash collection has not been disrupted and is being collected in the same alleyways Capriglilne referenced.

"The fact that they keep just missing us, we're really getting aggravated with it," she said. "I want to talk to somebody and figure out exactly what is going on."

Before the schedule switch, trash and recycle pickup occurred as scheduled. Since then, residents have foregone their recycle bins altogether and have dumped their recyclables in the trash.

The City of Raleigh responded to our request for comment by saying, "We have done some route balancing to improve efficiency in customer service and this may have caused some areas to be overlooked as our drivers adjust to the new routes. We appreciate everyone's patience as we work through possible issues. Our staff in our Solid Waste Services Department will be looking into the issue."

To find out more about Raleigh's Solid Waste Services Department, visit its website.