Chicago loves to call itself one of the greenest cities in the US, touting green rooftops, farmers markets, miles of parks and bike lanes and a recycling program that can’t be beat.  Wait…scratch that last part.  The fact of the matter is while Chicago is making great “green” strides, our recycling program leaves a lot to be desired.  On Monday, June 7, Alderman Tom Allen of the 38th Ward introduced an order to the Chicago City Council that would demand that the city fulfill its promise to provide blue cart recycling to all its citizens.

“We don’t plow half the street and leave the other half unplowed. You don’t pave half-a-block and leave the other half unpaved. We have to do more than pay lip service to being a green city,” Allen said.  Well said, Alderman.  Allen was also quoted by the Chicago Tribune saying, “There are 600,000 households in Chicago. Now, if you want to do something for the environment, wouldn’t it be good to get 600,000 households on track instead of five green roofs or five trees or whatever?”* This man means business and I’d have to say I agree with him.

In addition to the dozen or so Aldermen, Chicago Recycling Coalition President, Mike Nowak, was in attendance and testified at the meeting stating, “This is a basic city service.”  The Chicago Recycling Coalition is a non-profit organization run by volunteers that champions environmentally and fiscally sound management of solid waste through research, education, and advocacy, emphasizing waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, and buying recycled.

About a third of the city have blue carts in their ally and the other 2/3 have to use one of the city’s drop off centers or don’t recycle at all.  The original plan was to roll out the blue bins over time and by the end of 2011, all 600,000 Chicago households would have their recycling picked up.  But the plan seems to have been abandoned with no money for recycling expansion in Daley’s 2010 budget.  The bottom line is that recycling has to be made accessible and convenient to gain maximum participation and with only a third of the city households having access to the blue carts, the city isn’t making it very accessible or convenient.

The committee will take up the question again when Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Thomas Byrne comes up with an estimate of the cost of fully implementing the blue-cart system*.  In the mean time, I ask, what can we do?  Have ideas and suggestions?  Know how we can get involved?  Let us know by commenting or contacting us!

*Facts and quotes from articles found in Huffington Post and Chicago Tribune

One Response to “Chicago Blue Carts”

1. ChicagoREgen.com » Talk of Privatizing Chicago Recycling says:

   June 19, 2010 at 6:43 am

   [...] According to Sun Times City Hall reporter, Fran Spielman and a recent article that was published, Chicago officials may be looking to privatize recycling and several Aldermen say that they’ve been informed the the Streets and Sanitation Department are already working on the plan.  This news comes after Alderman Tom Allen purposed an order to City Council on June 7, that would revitalize the Blue Cart Program. [...]