More homes in Chicago soon could recycle with bins instead of blue bags, as Mayor Richard Daley’s administration considers expanding a successful pilot program beyond the Beverly neighborhood.
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Daley has bristled at criticism of the troubled blue bag program. But the alternative approach now used in the 19th Ward could be offered in other sections of the city this year, Environment Commissioner Sadhu Johnston said Wednesday.
The city plans to announce which communities will participate in the expanded recycling pilot program within a month, Johnston said.
“We recognize that as a city we need different options,” Johnston said.
But sources close to the mayor said any such plans are dependent on funding.
Daley has said that privatizing the city’s three waste sorting stations could pay for overhauling the blue bag program. The mayor is seeking passage of state legislation that would confer property tax-free status to the waste facilities even if they were leased to a private entity.
Under the blue bag system, residents are asked to buy plastic bags and put recyclables such as cans, paper and plastic in them. The bags are thrown into trucks with the rest of the garbage.
Only 13 percent of households use blue bags. Chicago recycles less than 8 percent of the garbage that it collects, far short of the 25 percent target set by Daley when the program began 10 years ago.
The results have been much better in the test area in Beverly, where more than 80 percent of 700 homes are participating and about 20 percent of the garbage is recycled.
For the last year, homes in the pilot area have placed recyclables in bins that are left curbside. The recyclables are collected separately from garbage.
Johnston said it is unclear how much more it would cost to bring such curbside recycling to a broader swath of Chicago. That approach is used in most Chicago suburbs and other major U.S. cities.
“We don’t have the specific numbers yet, but we know that it’s worked really well in our pilot area,” Johnston said. “We want to expand it to other wards to see how it works in different [areas]. Does it work in a dense community? Does it work in different demographics?”
A majority of the City Council supports a proposal calling for the city to ditch blue bags and expand curbside recycling across Chicago. The proposal’s chief sponsor, Ald. Joe Moore (49th), said Johnston’s announcement is “a step in the right direction.” But Moore said he would not be satisfied until the city comes up with a plan to institute curbside recycling in every neighborhood.
The Daley administration has “put so much political stock and financial resources into blue bag that it’s difficult to admit it’s a failure,” Moore said.
A study released last week by the Chicago Recycling Coalition, which has long opposed the blue bag program, asserts that the city would not have to spend much more for a more effective system. The coalition said a new program could cost $15.2 million a year, compared with $14.5 million spent on blue bag recycling in 2005.
Also Wednesday, Daley announced a test project that would install four wind turbines on top of the Daley Center courthouse across the street from City Hall. The turbines would generate some of the electricity for the courthouse.
Johnston said the wind turbine project would cost the city about $100,000 and he did not have an estimate on how much it would save the building in energy bills.