CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Cole Stollard told a special City Council Committee hearing on Wednesday that while it's not exactly fair to compare Chicago's rate of recycling with other cities, the city’s recycling numbers are not great.
“We tend to pick up everything, so that number is based off of the amount of garbage and trash that we’re picking up yearly, but right now … for the first three months of the year, we’re at 10.1%,” he said.
Still, he said the city has launched a robust composting program at more than a dozen locations.
“Residents have diverted 67 tons — 67 tons — of food scraps from landfills,” said Stollard. “We have since expanded the program to two new locations, and we will continue to research and add new locations in the future.”
Stollard added that composting options make it easier for Chicagoans to “both reduce harmful greenhouse gasses and emissions that occur when organic food material decomposes in the landfill — and return organic material to the earth, creating healthier soils and communities.”
He said 4,600 people have signed up so far.
As for traditional recycling, Stollard said: “We know we can do better. We want to do better.”
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