Recycling Ordinance Gets Updated

The City Council amended the Chicago Recycling Ordinance to provide greater clarity to property owners regarding their recycling requirements and to give city officials stronger enforcement capabilities.

Under the amended ordinance, property owners of multi-unit residential, office and commercial establishments will now be mandated to provide source-separated, single stream recycling; the most commonly used collection method in the industry. Property owners will also be responsible for implementing an ongoing educational program that includes posting signage, providing adequate carts and sending written notice to tenants about the changes. The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) will handle enforcement of the ordinance that includes a 30-day warning period and graduated penalties for noncompliance.

The revision to the ordinance was prompted mostly by complaints from residential tenants living in buildings that don’t recycle. Virtually all BOMA/Chicago member buildings already have recycling programs in place that often surpass the single stream recycling mandate of the revised ordinance.