RecyclinginChicago by Suzanne Hanney
Recycling is a paradox: admirable, but still widely ignored. There are Chicagoans who advocate for going green, yet the city has the lowest recycling rate of any major metropolitan city in the U.S. A survey done by the Better Government Association (BGA) found that Chicago’s rate was 9 percent. In comparison, the second-lowest city was Houston with a recycling rate of 17 percent in 2018. San Jose, however, has a rate of 80 percent. What can Chicagoans do to combat this low recycling rate? Educating people on the impact of recycling in their cities and teaching them how to recycle are two ideas that are consistently mentioned. Regarding the impact of recycling, you may think that only sea turtles benefit from humans’ good works. Actually, a community benefits in many ways.
Some people attribute Chicago’s low recycling rates to contamination stickers. Often, if one item in a bin isn’t recyclable, Waste Management has to label the bin as contaminated, and nothing in it will be recycled. Waste Management had received only yearly contracts since 2018. On April 5, the City awarded a three-
recyclebycity.com/chicago/guide offers guidelines: • Rinse, wipe or scrape out food and drain out liquids • Recycle items loosely in the Blue Cart without a bag. • Containers, glass bottles and jars, metal cans, paper, and cardboard can be recycled, while plastic bags, plastic wrap, food and liquid, and scrap metal cannot be recycled in the Blue Carts. Avoid things like garbage, electronics and tanglers (like hoses, cords and chains), or the cart could be labeled as contaminated. There are some gray areas that can get confusing. For example, paper cups meant for hot coffee cannot be recycled, but the paper sleeves and the plastic tops can be. Plastic grocery bags cannot be placed into traditional recycling carts in Chicago, but Mariano’s has bins for them, along with plastic overwrap for toilet paper and similar goods, bubble wrap, water bottles, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves and more. These items come back as composite decking. In the last three years, Mariano’s has recycled 186.6 million pounds of plastic. However, the Blue Cart system is just the beginning for recycling in Chicago. The commodities we use every day are often overlooked. Furniture, aluminum cans and other metals, old clothes, even ratty underwear - all of it can be recycled instead of being sent to a landfill. Even items that can’t be recycled can be disposed responsibly.
CLOTHING According to EcoWatch and Earth 911, the fashion industry is second only to big oil as the dirtiest industry in the world. The scale of waste is immense - 150 million tons of clothing is sold worldwide every year, the majority of which ends up in landfills. The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) reports that nearly 85 percent of textile waste ends up in the trash. NERC explains the material recycling process. When clothes are recycled to a charity or a forprofit textile collection business, they are first sorted and graded. The best clothing, shoes, washcloths, etc., are typically resold through thrift shops in the US. Clothing that is wearable - but might be missing a few buttons or have some other minor flaws - is typically sold in bulk and winds up in overseas markets. Then, the unwearable items, like rags, towels, used underwear and so on are further separated. Some items are cut up and resold to industrial markets as wiping rags. Other material is sold off to be shredded for insulation, or used to stuff cushions and stuffed animals, or for carpet padding and soundproofing in the automotive industry. Chicago Textile Recycling (CTR) diverts over 2½ million pounds of waste from area landfills annually in conjunction with its parent company, Wipeco, Inc., which turns them into wiping rags. Visit chicagotextilerecycling.com for the list of items it accepts. Clean, bagged items can be placed in the bin outside its warehouse at 250 N. Mannheim Road in Hillside. Additionally, Donate Stuff picks up items like clothing, shoes, coats, purses, athletic equipment and small home goods. Donors need only specify the charity they wish to benefit. Donatestuff.com A CTR collection bin in Mundelein Park.
COVER STORY
A community’s commitment to a cleaner environment is often considered a reflection of a higher quality of life. Recycling attracts companies that process recyclables as well as suppliers who reuse these materials in their products, which means more businesses and more jobs. A study done by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pointed out that recycling industries not only offer higher paying jobs than the national average, they also prevent communities from sending valuable items to their landfills.
year contract to Lakeshore Recycling (LRS). Starting in June, LRS will assume four of six recycling zones on the Northwest and South Sides: any Blue Cart less than 50 percent contaminated. The Department of Streets and Sanitation will handle two North and Southwest Side zones.
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