Research

The Need for Proper Waste Disposal

• Yard waste takes up a shit ton of space in landfill (7)
• It creates methane when it breaks down (7)
• The yard waste also produces chemicals that can seep into the water supply (6)
• According to EPA, yard waste makes up anywhere from 25% - 50% of yard waste (8)
• If the yard waste is burned with the other gas it releases nitrogen-oxide which cause smog (8)
• If the yard waste is left to compose it releases methane which is worse for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
• Methane is also very explosive.

Data and Statistics

• 31.75 million tons of yard waste is produced every year
• Only 50% of all yard waste that is generated is recycled
• Most landfills are 5 to 10 years from closing or over filling.
• Methane makes up 10% of all greenhouse gasses

Comparisons Among Cities

Chicago

• Currently has a 311 hotline for yard waste collection.
• Residents can call 311, make an appointment, and leave a bag full of yard waste in the alley.
• A truck will usually come pickup in 7 days (5)
• The yard waste should be kept separate from regular garbage.
• The current program takes the collected yard waste to a composting facility
• Free of charge when pickuped from your residents.
• Operate all year long
• Budget for solid waste disposal is $155 million dollars (1)
• Program is poorly advertised
• Garbage trucks will often pick up yard waste with rest of garbage (3)
• Released a pamphlet that encourages making compost at home (4)
• Yard was collection was eliminated between 2011-2012 (5)
• Under a previous administration compost bins were handed out to the resident to use for in-home composting (5)
• Currently spends an average of 10k on yard waste
• How many trucks do we need?

Boston

• Have scheduled pickups for yard waste.
• Yard waste should be placed in labeled paper bags or containers
• Program runs from April to December
• Pickup crews come every other week. In November they pick up daily.
• $40 million for the recycling program

Indianapolis

• Has a leaf collection pickup time period between November 6 - December 1
• Also has a Citizens Transfer Station where you can drop of leaves for a fee of $2 per car load.
• It is composited and turned into mulch which is available for citizens.

Toronto

We chose Toronto as the international comparison because it has a similar climate to Chicago. It also has a similar population as Chicago.

• Pickup every other week from mid-March to mid-December
• Has special pickup in January for Christmas trees
• Budget of $339 million canadian dollars that is about $ 264 million us dollars (2)
• Have many facilities to maintain

Data Visualization

Sources

• https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/obm/supp_info/2018Budget/2018_Budget_Overview.pdf
• https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/931b-Budget-Notes-SWMS-op-nov17-503p.pdf
• https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151120/downtown/you-have-call-311-have-yard-waste-picked-up-city-says
• https://www.cityofchicago.org/dam/city/depts/doe/general/RecyclingAndWasteMgmt_PDFs/BlueCart/BlueCartRecycling_YardWaste_Text.pdf
• http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/10/16/where-does-chicago-s-yard-waste-go
• http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/yard_waste_practices_impact_water_quality
• https://1stoplandscapefl.com/yard-waste-more-of-an-impact-than-you-think/
• https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/10001BB3.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=1991+Thru+1994&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&* ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C91thru94%5CTxt%5C00000000%5C10001BB3.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&* Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL
• http://people.hws.edu/halfman/data/publicinterestarticles/landfills.pdf
• https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases