Chicago Sets Mandatory C&D Recycling Standard

Chicago city officials have announced that companies must recycle 25 percent of construction and demolition debris from work sites beginning in 2006, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The requirement will double to 50 percent the following year, Al Sanchez, Chicago Streets and Sanitation commissioner, tells the paper.

Some new regulations for the Chicago construction industry will begin as early as March 14, 2005, when contractors must start installing fencing, controlling dust with fabric mesh and sweeping mud off streets.

The Sun-Times reports violators of the new ordinances could be fined anywhere from $200 to $500, in addition to the possibility of being issued a 10-day stop-work order.

Matt Smith, Streets and Sanitation spokesman, tells the paper that recycling is “the only real option for the industry” because putting material into landfills is so expensive.