Tribune file photo
"We're just looking for creative ways to expand the program, but not commit more resources to it [by] just working more efficiently," Budget Director Eugene Munin said Wednesday.
Munin said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Tom Byrne "suspects they don't need to be picking up [recycled] garbage every other week" in "some areas of the city.
Obviously they haven't been to Lakeview ...
I know I don't run a city, and it's got to be hard to find places to
cut spending in order to make up for a $500 million shortfall. But come
on now.Most other large, metropolitan cities manage to figure out a way to do it, and so do many smaller communities.
Then again, most of these large cities know how to run a public transportation system too ...
My frustration stems mostly from the hypocrisy of it all. Chicago is
touted as a green frontrunner in some areas. Daley constantly touts his
grand plans for being an eco-friendly. And our fearless leaders thought
they could put together a low-carbon, "blue-green" Olympics in 2016.
Ha! We can't even get a recycling program functioning.
Given the economic situation worldwide, I doubt Chicago is the only
city facing cuts, fees and tough decisions. But that does mean it
should stop running. For example, San Francisco recently launched its required composting and recycling program Wednesday, with up to $1000 in fines for those who refuse to participate.
Hey, that's one way to earn money while still providing city services.
What I want to know is, what are they going to cut next? Trash
pickup? Road repair? Electricity to street lamps? Fine, perhaps more
extreme than altering the recycling program, which I know is not at the
top of most people's list of necessities. But, to me it's a big
deal--and a sign of worse things to come.
5 Comments
Jim C. said:
Let's hope they're sensible and reduce pickups to areas where there isn't a lot of recycling. And for those who need more bins, there's a note at the bottom of the recycling schedule pdf that says you can call the city to get them. http://preview.tinyurl.com/yjakfad (not the pdf, page links to the pdf)
Supriya Doshi said:
I certainly hope they're that sensible. Though it's interesting that they recently launched a rewards programs in areas where recycling wasn't taking off. I wonder if this will affect that at all.
And thanks for the link referring readers on how to get more blue bins!
Jon-David said:
I wonder, with groups like mine, The Green Ministry, and Faith in Place, and the national/local group Interfaith Power and Light, if this could be the jelling cause that we could all work on. Could we, as responsable groups, pool our congregations to get our city to adopt a fines/education/funds bill to our city constitutions? I know it would take time. Maybe years. But I think I could really get into this one.
Jen said:
Oh my..I could rant and rave for days but I'll try to keep it to a minimum.. Heaven forbid Daley takes some of those "rainy day funds" that has no oversight to begin with, to use towards things we NEED, like recycling.. "Trying not to commit more resources" towards recycling is beyond my understanding. I'm sorry, but what should we be committing our tax dollars to then? Perhaps building more crappy condos that won't sell to begin with, or paying those with political clout more and more each year, that don't really positively contribute to anyone's lives to begin with? Wow.. Daley needs to get it together and fast. If he can spend all of that time and money towards Olympics advertising that was being done, then he can scrounge up the money for recycling. Good grief.
Supriya Doshi said:
Agreed! A handful of those ads probably could have made a dent in the funds required to keep the recycling program functioning properly.
Thanks for the comment!
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