Listen now | 19 minutes, 6 seconds
What happens to those blue bags Chicagoans love to hate? And how many separate bins are really necessary? Chris Sauve of Chicago's Streets & San answers these and other recycling mysteries.
Published on March 10, 2008 at 4:36 p.m., as part of the The Little Green People Show.
Links
- Berkeley Recycling Center - Stats and facts about the value of recycling
- Chicago Recycling Coalition - Where and how to recycle in the Windy
laurene commented, on April 9, 2008 at 1:14 a.m.:
another good link is http://chicagorecycles.org
and...you can now recycle at the nature museum! Bring your plastics (1-5 and 7) and glass and paper and drop them in the big blue cart out in front of our entrance. We also recycle crayons and batteries, inside our building. So bring the family for some fun and and run your recycling errands in one trip.
Is there anyone out there who wants to advocate for larger numbers on plastic to make it easier to tell what can and cannot be recycled?
Want to be green commented, on April 21, 2008 at 11:10 a.m.:
Given Wikipedia's 1,061,928 households in Chicago, blue bins to 86,000 odd households is a mere drop in the bucket!
The lack of viable recycling in Chicago is APPALLING. Beyond appallling. Even though my multi-occupancy high rise "recycles" per current city requirements, there is no enforcement, no follow through, and so much cynicism few tenants actually do it, or do it correctly.
Sauve mentions the need for a city ordinance.
It would be nice to tip people towards constructive ACTIONS they can take after hearing a podcast -- like links to contact their alderman, a petition to sign, etc.
FYI -- Jewel-Osco in Chicago has drop boxes for plastic bags (store bags, newspaper sleeves, dry-cleaning bags).
laurene commented, on April 26, 2008 at 9:52 a.m.:
Great points WTBG! Speaking up is crucial and we do need to solve this recyclying gap. There is a group in town that really keeps the pulse on recycling and they have a great section on their website called "what to do." Its the Chicago Recycling Coalition. Here is the link:
http://www.chicagorecycling.org/index...
and whats great about this link is that it gives you all the contact information you need to find your alderman etc.