By William F. Abolt

Chicago has a full complement of programs and services, in place now for five years. It has met the ambitious goal of providing recycling opportunities to every home and business. The combined efforts of public and private recyclers make this possible.

The first key to meeting the challenges of big-city recycling is a comprehensive approach, with programs and services tailored to both the wastestream and the generators being served. Outreach and tracking systems also are important because they show areas for improvement as programs mature.

To offer recycling opportunities to all, the city has had to account for a host of housing types (e.g., single-family houses with yards, high-rise condominiums, and public housing), many types of businesses and industries, and many facets of public life - from outdoor neighborhood events to public transit.

The city itself offers two residential recycling programs. The co-collected Blue Bag recycling program serves 750,000 single-family homes and low-density apartment buildings, and the Public Housing Buy-Back recycling program for both family and senior developments of the Chicago Housing Authority. Government agencies also provide recycling in public buildings, at transit stations, at public events, and in schools and libraries.

The city advertises the Blue Bag program on television and radio. A team of Blue Bag ambassadors answers citizen questions and present the program at community meetings, festivals, schools, and retail outlets where blue bags are sold. The city’s Public Housing Buy-Back program is operated in partnership with the Resource Center, a nonprofit recycler; Americorps; and the Chicago Housing Authority, the city and local retailers who redeem vouchers for the value of recyclables.

Private recycling companies serve high-density residential buildings and businesses. Owners and managers of these buildings are obligated by city ordinance to provide recycling to their tenants. The law requires informing tenants about the recycling program. The city assists owners in setting up an effective recycling program. Department of Environment inspectors respond to reports of noncompliance and issue tickets.

Last year private waste haulers that service high-density residential buildings and businesses handled almost half of Chicago’s recyclables. These companies use a broad network of transfer stations and recycling companies.

Chicago also has a tremendous amount of construction activity, and that activity generates a strong recycling market for concrete, steel, and wood. The city has put provisions in place to allow onsite reuse of certain demolition and construction materials to encourage this practice.

Chicago’s city council continues to renew a construction moratorium on landfills that was first passed in 1984. The ban helps strengthen the in-city market for reuse and recycling in addition to transfer stations as an alternative to long distance hauling of waste.

Both private waste haulers and permitted debris processors annually report recycling figures to the city. The data allow the city to track progress in recycling and give an indication of compliance with the ordinance governing business and high-density residential recycling.

A well-integrated local recycling market also contributes to the success of city-provided recycling services. With the Blue Bag program, residents separate recyclables into three blue bags - one for all kinds of paper; one for glass, plastic, and metal containers; and one for organics - and put them in a container in their alley together with their bags of household garbage.

The Department of Streets and Sanitation collects from each household once per week and delivers the garbage and recyclables to one of four materials recovery and recycling facilities (MRRFs) in the city.

The MRRFs are run by Waste Management Inc., which processes the recyclables and waste and is responsible for marketing and selling the materials. The city pays Waste Management a processing fee and also pays to dispose of the portion that is waste (never to exceed 75% of material).

Chicagoans and private companies "close the loop" by separating, collecting, processing, remanufacturing, and purchasing all in Chicago. For instance, Waste Management sells some of the plastic containers it processes from blue bags to a local manufacturer of plastic "lumber." That manufacturer sells the park benches and playground equipment made in Chicago to local businesses and institutions.

Some of the paper Waste Management processes can be sold to a local paperboard maker, which sells its product to an office-supply maker, which sells supplies in Chicago.

In Chicago, the working partnership between the city and private businesses, haulers, and recyclers makes big-city recycling a success.

MSW
July/August, 2000