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In 2007 Chicago rolled out its Blue Cart recycling pilot program, replacing the widely criticized blue bag program for 80,000 residences in seven wards. The results are good, but citywide expansion is slow going.

The Blue Cart goal in 2008 is to expand to 80,000 additional residences, though no official statement will be made until the city budget has been approved.

“[Blue cart recycling] is a success in the seven wards, but . . . it hasn’t expanded fast enough,” said Betsy Vandercook, former Chicago Recycling Coalition board president, who in April 2006 co-authored the most recent “White Paper” report that advocated for residential curbside source-separated recycling.

According to the report, the blue bag program yields less than 10 percent of recycled products from the waste stream.

“It is pretty obvious that blue bag recycling doesn’t work,” said Katy Groves, a Logan Square resident. “The bags break, and I can’t find them at the stores where I shop.”

On the other hand, Chicago’s Blue Cart program generated about 18 percent total recycling, including yard waste, from roughly 99,600 tons of refuse collected last year, according to the 2007 results released by the city in December.

Ald. Flores (1st ward) disseminated Blue Cart information through e-mails, city and 1st ward websites, literature available in the office, and “recycling block captains,” who volunteer for the city to inform neighbors with questions about blue cart recycling, according to Raymond Valadez, the alderman’s chief of staff.

It takes time for people to learn how to sort recyclables, but it’s a simple learning curve, Valadez said.

But during a budget crunch there are other government services that come before recycling initiatives, according to Matt Smith, a spokesman for the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

“Since Sept. 11 there is not a lot of money for all government services,” Smith said.

Indeed, the cost efficiency and recycling method of blue carts compared with blue bags have not justified citywide expansion. The 2007 Blue Cart results “are good, but not staggering,” Smith said.

Although 15 new drop-off recycling sites were also introduced with the pilot program, residents still are confused about Chicago’s municipal recycling process, according to Vandercook.

Awareness is a problem, said Vandercook, who believes that Chicago’s piecemeal effort for blue cart recycling hampers its ability to broadcast public service announcements about best practices for recycling in Chicago.

“We got a confused city here,” Vandercook said.

When asked by beginners how to recycle in Chicago, Vandercook’s advice may vary: It depends upon where a person lives, if it’s a high-rise or a single-family home, if the person owns a car. People fall into different subsets that require different recycling procedures because Chicago’s recycling system is mixed up, she mentioned.

Smith argues that blue bag recycling suffers from a “perception issue,” not a pragmatic one.

“Any environmentalist that tells you [source-separated recycling] will pay off is not accurate,” Smith charged. “Whether it’s a green cart, purple cart or plaid cart, it doesn’t matter if people aren’t participating.”