Blue Bags Emptying in Chicago?

In comments made to the Chicago Tribune, that city’s Mayor Richard Daley has indicated that Chicago’s Blue Bag program is in the process of yielding to a collection program that will use 96-gallon plastic carts.

According to the newspaper, “a pilot program featuring blue [collection] carts for recyclables will eventually be expanded citywide.”

The Blue Bag program, which has been in place since 1995, has been criticized for yielding low participation and recycling rates. A study conducted by the city in 2003 determined a 13.3 participation rate.

Although the Chicago mayor has long expressed confidence in the Blue Bag program, he reportedly indicated to the Tribune that the plastic collection carts will eventually be distributed to households throughout the city’s 50 wards.

The Tribune itself has been among the critics of the Blue Bag program. Last year, the paper ran a series of stories claiming city officials were inflating its effectiveness. The Tribune reporters claimed the accurate recycling rate was “only about 8 percent.”

A pilot program using the 96-gallon carts was started in a 700-home neighborhood and has yielded good results, according to observers.

Chicago officials are reporting an 80 percent participation rate and a 23 percent diversion rate. Recycler Cal Tigchelaar of Resource Management Cos., whose MRF is sorting the recyclables, is quoted by the Tribune as saying, “I think the city is doing it the right way by giving people these big carts.”

The Tribune also reports that an $8 million state grant will help the city of Chicago pay for the 96-gallon carts.