Already cramped for space, the last thing apartment dwellers want is more junk mail, old magazines and papers cluttering countertops. Although it may seem easier to shove everything into the garbage can, many Chicago-area communities hope residents, instead, will make a conscious effort to recycle their waste.
With people so attuned to environmental issues, recycling has evolved into a service that many apartment communities are offering their residents. In some cities, including Chicago, apartment buildings, by law, must have a recycling program.
Recycling is the process of turning certain used materials, such as paper and metals, into new products. Household materials that typically are recyclable include newspapers, magazines, clean paper and glass, aluminum and plastic containers. Materials that typically aren’t recyclable include Styrofoam, cigarette packages and food wrappers.
Recycling involves separating approved materials from those that can’t be reused and placing them in either recycling containers or specially colored bags. The benefits of recycling, experts say, outweigh the trouble renters may feel it takes to separate soft-drink cans from food scraps or to lug bags to an outdoor bin.
“Recycling helps Chicago and the environment in many ways,” says Bill Abolt, acting commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Environment. “Recycling reduces and prevents pollution, creates jobs in the city and keeps our businesses strong. By returning products to the economy, we create jobs to create new products in the community.”
“Recycling has a big environmental impact,” adds Ben Dykstra, marketplace vice president of sales for Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. in Carol Stream, which offers various waste services for commercial, residential, municipal and industrial businesses and properties. “It reduces our need for natural resources, such as trees, and it conserves water, energy and landfill space for future generations.”
The City of Chicago enforces recycling as a law to ensure preservation of the economy and environment, with an ordinance and a Blue Bag waste collection program.
According to Chicago’s Department of Environment, 55 percent of the city’s waste is derived from businesses and residential buildings, and 38 percent of that waste was recycled in 1998, compared with 28 percent in 1997.
In Chicago, the Chicago High Density Residential and Commercial Source Reduction and Recycling Ordinance, in effect since 1995, requires property managers or owners of residential buildings that have four or more units and use private waste collection services to have a recycling program.
Under the ordinance, property owners or managers have two options: collect three recyclable materials, or collect two recyclable materials and implement two waste reduction programs, which include using a mulching lawn mower, energy-efficient light bulbs or non-toxic cleaning products. The Blue Bag program is available in Chicago for apartment property managers or owners who receive garbage pickup from the Department of Streets and Sanitation. The service requires residents to place recyclables in prepurchased Blue Bags: one bag for paper and one for metal, glass and plastic containers.
Once renters place the sealed bags in a central garbage container, the city then collects and transports the bags to one of four sorting centers, which are operated by Oak Brook-based Waste Management Inc. and separate materials for recycling.
Chicago residents can purchase Blue Bags at major grocery, drug, hardware and discount stores throughout the city.
Wells Old Town Apartments in Chicago uses the Blue Bag program with success. “Recycling gives people a good feeling, knowing that they’re helping out,” says Sean Harklerode, building manager. “We ask tenants to use the Blue Bag, and they’re good about particijpating.”
Recycling is an ongoing process that the city encourages people to weave into their daily routine. But in many cases, tenants don’t know they can recycle because many apartment communities fail to tell residents about their programs. Experts say that the key to a successful recycling program is for property owners and managers to educate their tenants; then, it’s up to the tenants to recycle voluntarily.
“We find more often that (properties) have their programs in place, but they haven’t done the follow-up,” Abolt says. “Properties must provide education to their residents. We’ve started to take more enforcement actions, following up on complaints from tenants and doing spot-checking.”
Without an understanding of how to recycle, the program can fail once recyclable and non-recyclable materials are mixed together.
“The challenge of recycling is contamination, particularly at apartments, where there are a lot of tenants moving in and out,” Dykstra says. “It’s important that apartment owners educate their tenants that it’s available and how it operates, so containers won’t get contaminated with materials that can’t be recycled.”
Lincoln at the Parks apartment complex in Naperville contracts with Browning-Ferris to handle its recycling needs, using recycling containers located in the garbage area to separate paper, plastic and glass.
“We communicate how the program works and people do participate,” says Renee Schlei, senior business manager of the 400-unit modern complex, who adds that recycling isn’t a burden to properties. “As a landlord, you don’t ever have to worry about recycling the waste because the service handles everything.”
At Fox Valley Village Apartments and Lofts in Aurora, information about the property’s recycling program is placed in welcome packets. Located in a fenced-off garbage area, specially marked containers allow residents to recycle plastics and newspapers. “We’ve never had any complaints about the service, and tenants actively participate,” says Diane Ahola, property manager of the 420-unit modern complex.
Experts stress that recycling is cost-effective for apartment owners, because it can be more efficient and cheaper than standard refuse collection. Experts also say that apartment owners typically absorb recycling costs without affecting rent price.
“Costs for apartment owners vary with the size of the apartment (building or complex), and the ease with which we can get in and out of the area where the recycling containers are located,” Dykstra explains. Buildings are typically charged on a per-unit basis, ranging from $1 to $4 a month, depending on the building’s pickup logistics and level of service, he adds.
Many Chicago-area communities don’t require recycling by law but offer free service as an incentive, Dykstra adds. The communities of Lisle, Addison, St. Charles and Glendale Heights, for example, provide for their multi-unit complexes to receive recycling services at no additional cost.
If Chicago residents discover that no program exists for their buildings, they should contact the Department of Environment’s hot line at 312-744-1614.
For more information on Chicago’s recycling ordinance and initiative, call the Department of Environment at 312-744-7606; residents in other communities should call their local municipal office.
To learn about Chicago’s Blue Bag program, call 312-BLUE-BAG. For a tour of Waste Management’s recycling education center, call 773-883-5464.
