Beginning Monday, July 30, the City of Chicago will roll out the grid garbage collection system to 72,000 northwest side households in wards 33, 38, 39, 41 and 45, as well as small portions of wards 30, 35,  and 40.

“I am focused on providing residents with the best possible services while eliminating wasteful spending,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.  “The grid garbage system delivers high quality refuse collection services to residents with significant savings. We're choosing efficiency over politics to protect taxpayer resources.”

The implementation of a grid garbage collection system in Chicago is increasing garbage collection efficiency and crew productivity while saving taxpayers millions in operations costs.

The grid system, widely used by municipalities and private refuse haulers, changes collection routes from non-linear ward geography to a system of routes bordered by main streets and natural boundaries. The service model concentrates sanitation workers in targeted areas of the city each day and creates balanced service regions to improve daily collection performance.

“For the past several weeks, we have worked closely with the aldermen and community groups to ensure a smooth transition to the grid system,” said Commissioner Thomas Byrne, Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation.  “Residents may experience a change in their service day, but they can expect the same high quality, weekly service from our crews.”

Last week, crews posted color-coded “Change in Garbage Service Day” notifications on City-serviced household refuse carts within the boundaries of the roll out to inform residents of their new garbage collection day effective the week of July 30, 2012.

A map outlining day of service changes effective Monday, July 30, can be found online www.cityofchicago.org/dss.

Last month, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation rolled out the first phase of the grid garbage collection system on Chicago’s north side to approximately 55,000 households with great success and minimal issues reported.

Residents who would like more information about the grid garbage collection system and related service changes are encouraged to visit the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation website at www.chicago.gov/dss, call 311 or contact their local ward office.

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