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Thursday, March 28

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The Mechanics
« Fine Raise my Taxes But..... Chicago group reveals the truth in government accounting »

Chicago Sat Jun 20 2009

When Will Chicago Get Serious About Recycling?

334ed5d7297d__1245165363000.jpegI'm sure this question has been posed a lot, but after spending a few days in Ann Arbor, it was on my mind even more. Granted Ann Arbor (population: 114,024) is miniscule compared to Chicago's standards, but in A2's modest and pedestrian-friendly downtown, there are these recycling bins for anyone strolling around town. It'd sure be great to have these around Chicago.

On the Mag Mile, I've seen some improvement with the one BigBelly Solar trash compactor I spotted (there may be more). Though trash isn't recycled in these things, a solar-powered compactor helps reduce nasty garbage overflow. I couldn't get a response from a spokesperson from the Department of Streets and Sanitation on how many of these are installed on city streets, but Zvez Kubat, a spokesperson for the Park District, told me the district has 25 of these trash cans along the lakefront, in addition to the separate blue containers for recycling. Kubat says she hopes people this summer pay more attention to what bin they're throwing garbage into. If a recycling bin has too much trash inside, it can't be recycled. "In some cases, I don't know if people aren't paying attention, but there's been some unfortunate instances of not being able to recycle because it's contaminated," she says.

I may be missing something - or just haven't seen anything like this predominately around the city - but doesn't it seem reasonable Chicago could have something like this, at least in the Loop?

 
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John / June 23, 2009 11:03 AM

They should use the BigBelly Solar Trash Compactors. My city is using them and they've saved millions
Check out thier video here:
http://www.youtube.com/BigBellySolar

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Feature

Parents Still Steaming, but About More Than Just Boilers

By Phil Huckelberry / 2 Comments

It's now been 11 days since the carbon monoxide leak which sent over 80 Prussing Elementary School students and staff to the hospital. While officials from Chicago Public Schools have partially answered some questions, and CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has informed that he will be visiting the school to field more questions on Nov. 16, many parents remain irate at the CPS response to date. More...

Civics

Substance, Not Style, the Source of Rahm's Woes

By Ramsin Canon / 2 Comments

It's not surprising that some of Mayor Emanuel's sympathizers and supporters are confusing people's substantive disputes with the mayor as the effect of poor marketing on his part. It's exactly this insular worldview that has gotten the mayor in hot... More...

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