Less than 9% of the trash produced every year by Chicago residents is kept out of landfills, officials said — a rate that has been essentially unchanged for five years, despite repeated calls for the city to do a better job at recycling. Leaders of the Department of Streets and Sanitation told members of the Chicago City Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee during the department’s budget hearing that they were committed to doing more to keep recyclable paper, glass and plastic out of area landfills.
Department of Streets and Sanitation Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Sustainability Chris Sauve told alderpeople that the city was adding eight positions to the department to develop plans to increase programs to compost organic waste. Even as crews picked up more recyclables, the amount of trash produced by the city grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning there was no significant improvement, Sauve said.
A study of the city’s waste strategy conducted by the Delta Institute and released in July urged the city to expand ways for residents — and businesses in the food industry — to compost organic waste, rather than tossing it in the trash. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed setting aside $6 million as part of her 2022 spending plan to expand composting programs through the mayor’s office, which includes the office of the chief sustainability officer, Sauve said. Lightfoot has said those funds are part of the $188 million included in her spending plan designed to combat climate change. That plan also calls for 75,000 new trees to be planted in Chicago by 2026.