I’ve recently been made aware that the City of Chicago provides regular garbage pick up only for low rise residential buildings (which I believed are defined as 4 or less units). All larger buildings, such as most townhome developments as well as mid and high rise buildings, are required to contract out and pay for their garbage pick up through private companies. It occurs to me that this is counter to principles of urban living. Presumably, a high rise building will collect its occupant’s garbage at an accessible, centralized location, making the per capita effort to pick up and remove the waste less than the per capita cost to stop at individual single family and small condominium buildings. Currently, higher density living residents are paying taxes that fund garbage pick up for low density buildings, while they are excluded from this service. As such, the system penalizes those residents living in higher density developments, and rewards those living in the lowest density developments.
Anyhow, I’m not sure what I can do with that information. I’ve not heard anyone raise this issue before, it only occurred to me after I learned that the new townhome I’m looking to purchase is part of an association that has to pay for garbage removal. I’m going to try to find out more information about the history of this situation, and how it came to be, though I don’t really know where to begin. Perhaps I can become the new crusader for garbage equity in Chicago!
EDIT:
A reader informed me that the city does offer a "scavenger's rebate" which should atleast partially rebate the cost of the service. This is good news. However, from a city planning perspective, the easiest buildings to collect from are high rise buildings, and more generally, I think the city should be encouraging the more dense forms of development.
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I think that your argument makes sense in a theoretical realm, but in the practicalities of it, it does seem to work a little better with the current scheme.
I had this fight with our building. I don't think that the city is using your tax dollars to subsidize lower density units, but is acting more like a regulatory agency. And the smaller buildings would not be able to attract quality service on their own - so the city bundles them and takes care of them together.
As for the scavenger discount. The city (acting as regulator) requires, by ordinance, that any building larger than 4 units (and thus using a private service) have separated pick up for recycling and waste (a superior system to what you would get from city pickup). On top of this is the "scavenger" discount that should make the end bill the same (the recycle material should become a resource and cancel the extra cost). I had to contact our disposal company, ask, then beg for recycling pickup. After being told it was not possible, did the research, and informed them that they would be in violation of city ordinance if they did not provide the required services. They told me it would cost them extra. I asked them to look into it and let me know how much it would cost. They then told me that it would be the same cost (which tells me they got a deal to make it cheaper for them). Though I did catch them loading all the dumpsters into the same truck once, it worked out rather well in the end.
Part of the problem is the Chicago still has not gotten it together in regards to recycling - whether it be lack of effort, size complexities, or whatever - and pushed it off to the private sector. They have not decided on a preferred method. It was neat visiting Denver and seeing a small container for waste, a container for recycling, and a container for compostables at each house.
All residential waste is picked up by the city over here - alternate weeks for general waste and recycling. Our tenement (8 households) has a shared bin shelter in the back lane with several bins for general waste and paper, plastic and aluminum recycling. The city provides glass and textile recycling facilities too, but these are 'drop-off' facilities. Does your neighborhood have alleys?
Wonder what the difference is in our city taxes?
Rob,
Actually the city has been rolling out blue bin recycling, ward by ward. The bins are collected every two weeks, on the same day as regular garbage pick up, and they accept. In my neighborhood, atleast their seems to be very high participation.
Good point about the bargaining power of individual smaller buildings.
Amanda,
My neighborhood is atypical for Chicago in that is one of the few neighborhoods that survived the great Chicago Fire. As such, many of the roads are are winding, have dead ends and do not match the normal Chicago grid. Most Chicago neighborhoods have alleys, where Garbage is kept in large, city provided bins. Recently we have the city has begun providing blue bins which are for nearly all manners of recycled materials, unsorted.
Not sure about the city taxes. Chicago, as an American !!Socialist!! paradise, does have rather high sales tax (I believe between 9% and 11%, depending on where within the city you are.
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