Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Department of Streets & Sanitation Commissioner Thomas Byrne kicked off competitive bidding for Chicago’s Blue Cart Recycling Program Oct. 3, 2011.
According to a press release issued by the Mayor’s Press Office, the competition, which joins the city’s recycling crews and private sector companies, will ensure Chicago’s taxpayers receive the best services with the most efficient recycling collection and ultimately expand recycling to more households in the city.
“Chicago’s taxpayers deserve a city government that works for them and uses every cent of taxpayer money as efficiently as possible,” Emanuel says. “Competitive bidding will save money for taxpayers by ensuring that we are getting the best deal for recycling collection and put us on a path to recycling throughout the city of Chicago.”
Two private sector companies—Midwest Metal Management and Waste Management—and employees of Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation will compete for the bid. The city will be divided into six zones, four of which will be serviced by the private sector and two to be serviced by city employees.
The zones have been designed to create competition between the different bidders, says Matt Smith, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation. He adds that the population and demographic differences will be distributed evenly among the city and private companies to make it a truly competitive process. While Chicago’s blue cart program is voluntary with no enforcement for nonparticipation, some measurements such as participation and tonnage will be monitored and weighed accordingly.
Smith says recycling collection costs will be the key evaluation criteria for city and private crews. “While costs to operate the program are the primary factor, the operational performance—total number of alleys serviced per day and week—will be evaluated as well. After the nine-month period, we will make decisions for the future of this program based on the results.”
In the spring of 2012, Chicago will evaluate the results of the competition and determine the best way to provide recycling collection in the future. The bidders will be judged on cost and completion.
This is the first instance of competitive bidding in Chicago, according to the Mayor’s Press Office.
Chicago plans to add 20,000 homes to the recycling program in early 2012. The 240,000 homes currently in the program will not see any change in service as a result of the competition.
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