At the same time, the lousy economy has cut some of the profits out of recycling. And Chicago is too broke for any new initiatives that don’t yield an immediate financial benefit—which is why, over the last few months, city officials have floated various proposals for revamping and taxing our garbage collection system. Last week, in announcing that the city’s deficit may rise to $300 million in the coming months, budget director Gene Saffold detailed what the cutbacks will look like if unionized workers don’t give up some pay and benefits. Among the hits would be a delay in the already slow rollout of the Blue Cart recycling program, which even on the current timetable isn’t supposed to be offered citywide until 2011.
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Out of the study came a “tool kit,” since posted online, that offers the residents and managers of any building concrete steps on how to start a recycling program. And in March the city convened a “recycling task force” made up of aldermen, recycling advocates, waste haulers, and officials from the departments of Environment and Streets & San that’s been discussing how to turn the findings into citywide policy.
Shiller says things have changed in just the last couple of years. At the very least, she argues, the crummy economy has demonstrated the need for new economic development, and if Chicago can start recycling more consistently, businesses that use the materials will soon follow.
