DOWNTOWN — Building owners would face fines of up to $5,000 for not meeting recycling requirements under newly proposed changes.
A series of proposed changes to a recycling ordinance would require owners of multi-unit buildings to provide source-separated, single stream recycling, said Jennifer Martinez, a spokeswoman for Streets and Sanitation. That means people would be able to put all of their recycling into one bin and it would be collected and sorted.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed an ordinance with the changes at City Council on Wednesday. Source-separated, single stream recycling is an industry standard and already widely used in the city, Martinez said.
“A lot of people already embrace recycling,” Martinez said. The amendments are “just giving guidance.”
Owners who don't comply would have to pay a fine of $500-$1,000 for the first offense. That would increase to $1,000-$2,500 for the second offense and $2,500-$5,000 for further violations within a one-year period.
Building owners are required to provide recycling under an ordinance from '93, but those who didn't were rarely punished, according to a report last year from WBEZ. Only a few dozen citations had been issued for non-compliance over a five year period.
The new plan, Martinez said, will make things more clear for building owners.
“[The previous ordinance] didn’t give direction on how that should be done or what needed to be done,” Martinez said. "That led to confusing recycling options. In the industry we knew that we had to be current.”
Streets and Sanitation worked with building owners, residents and advocacy groups to develop the changes, which are meant to strengthen the ordinance from '93, Martinez said. It won't affect residents beyond ensuring they have a consistent recycling option. If not, they can report their landlord to 311.
Building owners would be responsible for educating residents on the changes and changing containers if necessary, Martinez said. Streets and Sanitation would enforce the changes.
“It’s going to provide more clarity to property owners so they know their requirements and it gives city officials stronger enforcement capabilities,” Martinez said.
Previously:
Big Apartment Buildings Not Recycling, and City Doesn't Really Care: Report
Does Your Apartment Have Recycling? If Not, It's Illegal
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