CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- With people sheltering-at-home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears residential recycling is on the rise in the Chicago-area.
Marta Keane is Will County's recycling specialist and said there is one big reason for the rise in home recycling.
"We have a lot of folks getting home deliveries, producing a lot of cardboard, and people are putting that out for their recycling," she said.
Keane said in discussions she's had with other recyclers around the Chicago-area, it appears home recycling is up about 10 percent since the stay-at-home order began last month.
She said there's also been an increase in residential garbage, in part because some restaurants use packaging that is not recyclable for takeout or deliveries.
Keane also said anyone who suspects they have COVID-19 should either wash their recycles before putting them out for collection or put them in a separate bag and throw them out in the garbage.
She said the virus can last long enough on some surfaces to infect workers who come into contact with contaminated items.