(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times) Only one-third of Chicago's 600,000 households with city garbage pickup get curbside recycling. The city is under pressure to expand the service.
Under fire to deliver suburban-style curbside recycling to all Chicagoans, the Daley administration is exploring the possibility of privatizing the service, City Hall sources said Tuesday.
Several aldermen, who asked to remain anonymous, said they’ve been told Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Tom Byrne is working on a plan to privatize recycling to shave as much as $40 million off the $60 million annual cost.
Two years ago, the Mayor Daley-appointed 21st Century Commission recommended privatizing residential recycling to cut costs and speed the citywide conversion to curbside recycling now stuck at 241,000 households.
That would spare Chicago taxpayers the expense of purchasing blue carts and separate recycling trucks and hiring enough employees to make the pick-ups. Collection costs could be reduced, since most private haulers do the job with only one employee.
For decades, Chicago’s garbage has been picked up by city crews of three employees: a truck driver and two laborers. Two-employee crews serve households that already have blue carts.
Lou Phillips, business manager for Laborers Local 1001, said he was “totally against” farming out recycling because it’s “less jobs for us” at a time when his members are taking unpaid furlough days and comp time instead of cash overtime.
“It could be a problem. Look at the parking meters and everything else that’s been privatized,” he said.
Phillips acknowledged that a contractor could initially cut costs. But, he said, “Then, you’re at their mercy. They could raise prices or do anything they want.”
Mike Nowak, president of the Chicago Recycling Coalition, said he’s surprised the Daley administration would even consider going “back to that well” after the parking meter fiasco.
“Even if you could structure a deal in a way that made sense that would get recycling for the people of Chicago, which they are obviously clamoring for, I worry the proposal will be dropped on the desks of aldermen the day before they’re asked to vote on it and that there will be no discussion or transparency,” Nowak said.
“The people of Chicago deserve better than that, given the history of the way the administration has structured deals in the past.”
Ald. Tom Allen (38th) added, “Garbage pickup is an important function of city government. If we hand that off to private entities, we lose a certain amount of control. If they miss a pick-up, a resident’s first call goes to the aldermen. We have a pretty good track record. I wouldn’t want to mess that up.”
Last week, aldermen from across the city demanded to know why curbside recycling has come to only one-third of the 600,000 Chicago households with city garbage pick-ups. Allen led the charge by introducing an “order” that would establish a Sept. 1 deadline for citywide expansion.
Byrne could not be reached for comment.
[Originally posted by Fran Spielman on June 16th 2010 on The Chicago Sun-Times]
