LINCOLN SQUARE — The City of Chicago has been struggling to educate residents about what's recyclable and what's not, and it turns out so is pretty much every other municipality in America.
According to a recent report in USA Today, contamination — trash being tossed into recycling bins — is rampant nationwide.
In the report, David Biderman, executive director and CEO of the Solid Waste Association of North America, blamed the problem on "aspirational recyclers" — people putting things they think could or should be recycled into their bins, like garden hoses, screen doors and syringes.
Tactics to combat the issue range from street teams placing "Oops" tags on bins with an explanation of the contaminated materials to higher collection fees.
Chicago has been testing a reusable "buddy bag" on the North Side to keep plastic bags out of the recycling stream, and an education blitz on the South Side.
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