Recology

As a ux designer and environmentalist, I find that this app could have great potential.. but there’s so much room for improvement. Such as scanning items and to automatically direct where each item needs to go. There’s definitely some grey area when it comes to certain products, esp those who are not knowledgeable. And while you can search items, not all are in the database. It does give you an option to request items, but I have yet to receive info about those items that I’ve requested. I also find that this app is really targeted for residents. What about tenants and those not directly needing to know about pick up day? I also want to add that on the recology site, the whatbin feature is not easy to find.

A suggested addition: a list and explanation of each of the 7(?) recycling symbols, and the appropriate bin for each. Another: the reasons that things shouldn’t go into the wrong bins (some people think it’s no big deal, and it might be helpful if they understood). Also a blurb about how the wonderful trucks can pick up both garbage and recycling bins and put them in separate divisions of the truck - so many people misunderstand or don’t believe there’s separation happening. The app shows primise, but is literally only 15% there - please expand it.

Buyer beware I guess. Sadly, the dev has apparently elected to call this app by a name that has multiple service locations but refuses to support anything outside of the greater Bay Area. I’ve responded multiple times to request from within the app as well as to seeking out the report a problem and keep getting told the same thing. “Contact your local recology”. So I guess my biggest problem is that I don’t live in San Francisco since apparently no one on this dev team has the ability or skill to actually add the collection schedule or locations for any other place recology does business outside of San Francisco. I am truly stumped at how such a seemingly trivial ask is beyond the app dev to accomplish. The app should be called recology of San Francisco to make it clear it will not work for anyone else unlucky enough to have them as their provider outside of the narrow little niche the app actually supports. Lame.