Aug 16, 2008 8:06 am US/Central
Group: City Could Privatize Recycling And Save
City Budget Spokeswoman Won't Say If Mayor Daley Plans To Privatize
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
Chicago could save sorely needed millions -- and speed a citywide conversion to suburban-style curbside recycling -- by privatizing residential recycling, according to a mayoral commission appointed to examine the scope and structure of local government.
The proposal from a 21st Century Commission co-chaired by Mayor Richard M. Daley's budget director is politically volatile but well-timed.
Privatization has long been a sore point with organized labor and its City Council allies. But Chicago is facing a $420 million deficit that mayoral aides have warned will require a "paradigm shift" in services the city provides and the way they are delivered.
The budget crisis that could trigger well over 1,000 layoffs, including police and fire, also threatens to slow or halt the citywide switch to blue-cart recycling that was expected to be serving 600,000 households by 2011.
If residential recycling is privatized, the city would be spared the expense of purchasing blue carts and separate recycling trucks. And 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 composed of three employees: a truck driver and two laborers. Two-employee crews serve the 134,000 households that already have blue carts.
Chicago Recycling Coalition president Julie Dick said she would be "supportive of anything" that speeds the switch to blue carts in the wake of the 13-year-long blue bag debacle.
"There's an issue in not having enough trucks to pick up all the recyclables. They don't have a separate fleet. They're using extra trucks. That's part of why this is expensive initially. They have to buy all of these additional trucks," Dick said.
Lou Phillips, business manager for Laborers Union Local 1001, said he was "totally against" the change. It could cost his members their city jobs at a time when City Hall is demanding unpaid furlough days and other cost-saving union concessions.
"I don't think it would save the city any money. How would they service large areas? I just don't think it would work on a scale as large as the city is," he said.
Phillips added, "We're driving through the same alleys picking up the garbage. You're paying double-service."
Wendy Abrams, spokeswoman for the city's Office of Budget and Management, refused to say whether Daley would follow through on the proposal to privatize household recycling. Earlier this week, Chief Financial Officer Paul Volpe reportedly told aldermen in closed-door budget briefings that recycling was "a big loser" for the city.
Business groups and downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) remain skeptical of the change, despite the promise of reduced waste-hauling costs and the potential for a multi-million-dollar franchise fee for Chicago taxpayers.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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