UPDATE January 14th – Have questions?

You are not alone. It is true, the items considered recyclable by the City of Chicago listed on the notice we distributed, is not 100% consistent with the signage posted for Park Tower’s program with Republic Services. Here are some answers to questions we’ve already received:

1. NO PLASTIC BAGS? – YEP, that’s right. The old Jewel bags, and typical shopping bags are not recycled. They are reusable, as garbage bags themselves. But they are no longer accepted through our recycling service.
2. DO NOT BAG YOUR RECYCLABLES? – Please don’t. You can bring them down in a bag and dump them into the totes or dumpster on 1p, but the plastic bags are not wanted and not recyclable themselves. AND,  so you are aware, if you do anyway, and the bag is not completely see through, it will be treated as garbage for safety and liability reasons.
3. NO SOILED PIZZA BOXES OR ALUMINUM FOIL – They taint the process and can not be recycled. Grease? Chunks of cheese or other goo? It will not be recycled.
4. NO GIFT WRAP – Due to how it is manufactured, gift wrap can not be recycled.
5. WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT – Feel free to share all your questions and feedback with us. But as a general rule, as much as you want to be a good recycler, if you just aren’t sure about anything, toss it.

Also you can visit this link with other “Do’s and Don’ts” for our recycling program:  Park Tower Recycling Program Do’s and Don’ts

The Chicago City Council recently adopted the Chicago Recycling Ordinance Section 11-5-080, which became effective January 1, 2017.

The goal of this ordinance is to benefit the economy and environment by requiring commercial and multi-unit residential buildings, including apartment buildings, condominium associations, and cooperatives, to engage in onsite recycling. The primary purpose of this flyer is to address our obligations under the ordinance, and provide material to each unit to help educate our owners and residents about what is now required.

Park Tower Condominium engages in Single Stream Recycling, which allows residents to place all recyclable material, regardless of type, in the same recycling container.

To better acquaint you with this Building’s recycling program, the following information is provided:

• The types of materials required to be recycled – See Rider below, Part I;
• The types of materials that cannot be deposited in a recycling container – See Rider on the reverse side of this notice, Part II;
• Instructions on how to properly prepare materials for recycling – See Rider on the reverse side of this notice, Part III;
• The location of all recycling containers both inside and outside the building, which are provided by the Building and the Building’s private hauler – See Rider on the reverse side of this notice, Part IV;
• The private hauler contracted by the Building is Republic Services. They are scheduled to pick up our recycling every Monday and Thursday between 8am and 7pm.
• If you have any questions or would like more information about the buildings recycling program, please contact the property manager, Timothy Patricio of Draper and Kramer at (773) 769–3250 or via email at parktowercondo@dkcondo.com.
• For additional information on recycling in Chicago, visit www.recyclebycity.com/chicago/.

RIDER TO BUILDING RECYCLING PROGRAM

I. Types of materials REQUIRED to be recycled, as set forth in subsection (a) of Section 11-5-080 of the Municipal Code of Chicago:

1. Aluminum cans, aluminum trays, and foil;
2. Steel and tin cans;
3. Glass bottles and jars;
4. Plastic bottles and containers made from #1 through #5 plastic resin, inclusive, or #7 plastic resin as indicated in the chasing arrow symbol on the item;
5. Beverage cartons and aseptic packaging;
6. Newspaper;
7. Cardboard;
8. Paper bags;
9. Magazines, catalogues and telephone books;
10. Office paper, computer paper, notebook paper, and gift wrap paper;
11. Chip board and carrier-stock packaging, such as food and beverage boxes;
12. Junk mail and envelopes;
13. Paperback books.

II. Types of materials that CANNOT be deposited in a recycling container, as set forth in subsection (b) of Section 11-5-080 of the Municipal Code of Chicago:

1. Motor oil containers;
2. Insecticide containers;
3. Herbicide containers;
4. Hazardous chemical containers;
5. Plastic film;
6. Plastic bags;
7. Plastic sheets;
8. Plastic tarps;
9. Plastic wrap;
10. Expanded foam;
11. Reusable bottles, such as Nalgene or baby bottles;
12. Clear polystyrene or Styrofoam (#6 plastic);
13. Any container or paper fiber, other than those listed in subsection (a) set forth above, such as shredded paper;
14. Landscape waste;
15. Plastic products without a chasing arrow symbol; or
16. Waste defined in Section 11-5-020 of the Chicago Municipal Code as “any discarded or abandoned material in solid, semisolid, liquid or contained gaseous form, including, but not limited to, industrial process waste, hazardous waste, municipal waste, special waste, garbage, or sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility;
17. Any other material described in duly promulgated rules issued under Section 11-5-340 of the Chicago Municipal Code.

III. Instructions on how to properly prepare materials for recycling:

• All aerosol cans must be empty;
• Flatten all cardboard boxes;
• All containers should be emptied of food, liquid or other foreign material;
• Remove lids from glass bottles and jars before recycling;
• No broken glass or glass shards;
• If possible, remove metal spiral binding from notebooks;
• Remove plastic bottle caps from containers;
  • Plastic bottle caps are only recyclable at some of the city’s sorting facilities. To ensure caps are recycled, take them to a nearby Aveda store.
• Spray paint cans must be empty;
• Remove bows, tags, and ribbon from wrapping paper

IV. The location of all recycling containers provided by both the Building and the private hauler, are inside the building:

A recycling dumpster is located in the 1P garage across from the attendant’s office. Receptacles are available for smaller materials when you enter the laundry room on 1P, along the wall to the right as you enter the facility. Bins for larger materials are just outside service elevators #5 and #6 as you exit into 2P. Small containers are located near both the high rise and low rise mail boxes for discarding paper and junk mail.

For larger items, such as large boxes, break them down and fold them, and please stow them inside either the 1p garage dumpster or the bins on 2p. If you have large items you are unsure will fit, or otherwise have any questions, concerns or feedback regarding waste removal or recycling at Park Tower, please contact the office for guidance at 773-769-3250, or send us an e-mail to parktowercondo@dkcondo.com.