Beginning tomorrow, September 17, 2012, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation will begin rolling out the grid garbage collection system to approximately 65,000 households in wards 1, 26, 27, 32, 35, 42, 43 and 44, as well as small portions of wards 2, 33, and 47.

"I am committed to providing residents with services that are high quality and efficient," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "I am eager to continue building on the success of the grid garbage collection system that allows us to streamline operations and save millions in taxpayer resources."

Widely used by municipalities and private refuse haulers, the grid system 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.

By using more efficient routes, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation can use fewer crews to provide the same weekly refuse services to Chicago residents while saving millions in operation costs. It is also expected that the City will significantly reduce the expense associated with fuel, vehicle purchase and vehicle maintenance.

The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation has been working closely with aldermanic offices and community groups to educate residents about the grid system and potential day of week service changes through a targeted public outreach campaign. Last week, residents within the boundaries of the roll out received notices on their garbage carts informing them of their new day of service effective September 17, 2012.

"Over the past weeks, my staff has been working with the City to inform residents about the grid system and related changes to refuse and recycling collection days," said Alderman Rey Colon, 35th Ward. "We will continue to coordinate with the Department of Streets and Sanitation to support a seamless transition to the grid system, and I trust the department can meet the needs of residents while making better use of our resources."

*Once the third phase is complete, more than 190,000 households will receive refuse collection services on the grid system.

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.cityofchicago.org/dss, call 311 or contact their local ward office.

# # #

________________________________

*This figure was been updated from 160,000 on October 9, 2012. The Phase 1 of the grid system contains 55,000 households, Phase 2 contains 72,000 households and Phase 3 contains 65,000 households.