Rahm: Recycling To Expand Citywide By End Of 2013

By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 5, 2012 8:40PM

The Mayor's office announced this afternoon that $2.2 million has been saved in recycling service costs since competitive bidding between city workers and private companies began last September. As a result, Mayor Emanuel said homeowners can expect the curbside recycling program to be expanded citywide by the end of 2013. The mayor made the announcement this morning at the Humboldt Park Boathouse.

“These savings and efficiencies will help to make citywide recycling in 2013 a reality and further Chicago’s reputation as leader in sustainability efforts. No longer will Chicago be a tale of two cities when it comes to recycling.”

The question that hasn't been answered is whether the recycling program will remain in city control or be outsourced by then. City crews have more than held their own with private contractors since the competition began, but their costs are still more than 50 cents higher than the private companies. Emanuel left the door open for the possibility the two sides will continue to split the load.

"What will happen, every six months (Streets and Sanitation Commissioner) Tom (Byrne) and his team will evaluate this, and then at one point, if somebody brings down the price even further, we'll rip that band-aid off," Emanuel said. "That's why I want to keep competition in place."

Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Thomas Byrne said none of this would have been possible without "the partnership of the unions, as well as the hard work and professionalism of both the City and private crews."