Chicago has an abysmal recycling rate of 8.8%.1 One source of the issue is “wishful recycling”—where people recycle an item in hopes that it is recyclable without actually knowing if it is. In 2017, the City undertook a recycling education campaign with updated signage and flyers and consequently reduced the amount of contamination found in blue carts from 28% to 19%.2 This suggests that education may improve recycling metrics. A constraint on current educational material is that flyers are not comprehensive guides, since an effective design must balance thoroughness against readability. As a result, there are common contaminants that are absent from current City signage. For example, greasy pizza boxes are not recyclable, but they are not highlighted in City recycling materials. Guides on recycling can be found online, but they do not provide local level guidance, so residents do not have information on alternative sites to drop off items not accepted in blue carts. Having a central source for residents to easily look up recycling information would help create a more sustainable Chicago.
Recycling information would be discoverable via 311 texting (ChiTEXT). The City’s 311 line already has automated texting available to look up City contacts and precinct information. Adding an option to search which materials are recyclable would make it easy for residents to get accurate information and reduce recycling contamination. For example, a resident could text in “pizza box” and the automated system would respond: “Cannot be recycled if is greasy. Tops of pizza boxes that are not greasy can be cut off and recycled.”
If an item is not recyclable via the City’s recycling program, but can be recycled or reused through other programs, the automated system could flag that for residents. For example, if a resident texts in “styrofoam,” the automated system would respond: “Cannot be recycled in blue carts, but can be recycled at the Dart Container Corp. Drop off 24/7 at 7575 S. Kostner Ave.”
If an item is not found on the database, the system would store that search term on a list for staff to review as they update the database. The system would also then direct residents to websites with more general recycling information such as Chicago’s “Recycle by City” page.
The City could provide eye-catching signage on blue carts and mailers that promote ChiTEXT as an easy method for getting recycling information. This promotion would help further the City’s efforts to decrease the number of calls coming to the 311 phone line.
City of Chicago
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