Date: January 3, 2012
Source: City of Chicago
Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that his city has reduced its recycling costs by $1 million through competitive bidding and cooperation between the city and unions representing the Department of Streets and Sanitation which ultimately embraced flexible scheduling, more efficient routes, and fewer crews. The city has already reduced its cost per cart from $4.77 at the beginning of the competition to $3.75 per cart for the month of December, a 21 percent reduction that has lowered the program cost to $2.16 million from $3.15 million in the previous quarter that ended in September 2011. "We launched competitive bidding for recycling in an effort to save money while delivering quality services, and our results have exceeded our expectations," said Emanuel. Competitive bidding in recycling is the first step toward extending Chicago's Blue Cart Recycling program throughout the city. In 2012, more than 20,000 additional households will get recycling services, bringing the total to more than 260,000. The city has been divided into six zones, four of which are being serviced by the private sector companies and two that are still serviced by city employees.
In October 2011 the Mayor laid out the City's "2012 Budget Proposal to Secure Chicago's Future," which included plans to remake the city's antediluvian waste collection system and privatize many of its functions. Among its most controversial measures is a plan to move to a grid system that would take responsibility for waste management away from the City's fifty legislative districts or wards each of which is headed by an aldermen that collectively comprise the City Council. That alone is expected to save the city $20 million per year by removing some of the ridiculous inefficiencies of collecting waste from one side of the street but not the other because of a ward boundary.
See also: "Chicago Seeks to Save $20 Million through More Efficient Waste Collection," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20111018E.htm).
See also: "Chicago Seeks to Privatize Waste Collection and Recycling," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20110726F.htm).
PRESS RELEASE
January 3, 2012
Mayor Emanuel Announces Competitive Bidding Has Reduced Taxpayers' Recycling Costs by $1 Million
"This is a crucial step forward in our ongoing effort to serve the taxpayers of Chicago as efficiently as possible." - Mayor Emanuel
The Mayor was discussing the preliminary results of competitive bidding for Chicago's blue card recycling program, which is aimed at ensuring that Chicagoans get the best services with more efficient recycling collection and will ultimately lead to the expansion of recycling to more neighborhoods.
Just three months after the competition was launched, the cost of recycling has been reduced by $1 million thanks to cooperation between labor unions and City government. The estimated cost for recycling services from July through September 2011 was $3.15 million. After the competitive bidding process over the last three months, the resulting cost was $2.16 million - a 31 percent reduction.
The recycling competition is between two private sector companies - Midwest Metal Management and Waste Management - and DSS workers. Many of the cost savings resulted from cooperation between the City government and the unions that represent Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) workers. By using flexible scheduling, more efficient routes, and fewer crews, DSS was able to substantially reduce costs.
The City's crews lowered the price-per-cart from $4.77 at the beginning of the competition to $3.75 per cart for the month of December. And the private sector competitors are delivering their services at an average of $2.70 per cart, which is the average price they bid as part of the City's RFP for recycling services.
Mayor Emanuel has stated that competitive bidding in recycling is the first step toward extending the Blue Cart Recycling program throughout the City of Chicago. In 2012, more than 20,000 additional households will get recycling services, bringing the total households in the program to more than 260,000. The more the City can save through competition, the more resources can be invested in expanding recycling services to the whole city. This spring, at the six-month interval, the City will again evaluate the recycling cost data and move forward with the best plan to provide recycling services for the City.
Mayor's Press Office
312.744.3334
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