Heidi Tieszen said she understands when deep snow or ice prevent the Eureka Recycling truck from turning down her Highland Park alley. But being skipped — for the third week in a row — when the alley is plowed and the ice is gone?

It's become an annual rite of winter for many St. Paul residents: missed recycling pickups.

In a city that leaves plowing alleys up to property owners and lets Eureka drivers bypass alleys that are icy or buried under snow, some missed pickups can be expected. But what if, as Tieszen noted with photos she took the day after her alley was skipped, the alley appears to be passable?

"Our alley's been clear," said Tieszen, who is in charge of her block's alley plowing contract. "Where's the oversight from Eureka? And where is the oversight from the city when this happens?"

The headache coincides with the onset of higher recycling rates. The City Council last year approved a $129.41 per unit annual fee for recycling pickup, up from $60.24 for one- to three-unit properties and $38.16 per unit for properties with four or more units.

Heidi Tieszen
Heidi Tieszen said the recycling truck skipped her alley for the third week in a row. Yet, her alley this week has been mostly clear.

City officials did not respond to interview requests Friday, but Lisa Hiebert, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works, said in an email: "The City of St. Paul requires Eureka Recycling to make up missed collections. On Thursday evening, Eureka Recycling informed the city that they will be running some cleanup routes on Saturday to pick up missed collections."

Besides deploying extra crews, Eureka will take other steps to empty bins in the coming week, said Senior Vice President Katie Drews. The company plans to set up various collection locations, such as at the end of the alley or in front of homes, for residents with extremely difficult alleys, she said.

"We absolutely want to collect the recyclables, so they don't end up in a landfill," Drews said. "We're trying every effort that we can to come up with solutions."

Because safety is a priority and the city doesn't plow alleys, Drews said, drivers have long been told to avoid any that appear too snowy or icy. This winter has been especially vexing, she said.

According to the National Weather Service, more than 70 inches of snow has fallen on the Twin Cities as of Wednesday. That's about 30 inches more than normal, making this winter one of the snowiest on record.

With warmer weather forecast, Drews said, she's confident Eureka will start catching up.

St. Paul residents sure hope so. From Como Park to Hamline-Midway, Highland Park to West 7th, the past few weeks have spurred some variation of the same question on social media: "Did the recycling get picked up for everyone this week?"

Some posts were sympathetic.

"I only have to drive down this treacherous alley a couple of times a day. To have to do a route where I would have to drive down these alleys all day seems impossible," one Highland resident wrote Thursday on Facebook.

"I don't know what the solution is, but it seems like too much to ask of the drivers right now."

For others, though, patience is wearing thin.

"Week 3 of no pickup … the alleys are full up with overflowing bins," a Como resident wrote.

Wrote another: "My whole alley on the West Side was not picked up. Contacted them. Waiting to hear."

Victoria Mansfield and her husband moved to the same block as Tieszen about a year and a half ago. Eureka has missed pickups there four or five times since the new year began, she said.

"I've just been surprised that it's been like pulling teeth to get them to come do it," Mansfield said. "I just hope that they come get it. I don't want to put things in the garbage if we don't have to."