The first thing Chicagoans should understand about recycling their trash is that it`s good for them. It reduces the amount of garbage that otherwise would be buried or burned, saves money in disposal costs and puts once-used natural resources back into use.
Mayor Sawyer, reviving a plan that was taking shape when Mayor Washington died, has asked the city council to phase in a mandatory recycling program that eventually would cover all of Chicago.
It would start in roughly one-fifth of the city later this year, reaching all neighborhoods by the end of 1989. That would be a gargantuan undertaking, lifting Chicago from one of the nation`s paltriest recycling efforts to the biggest. The goal is to recycle 25 percent of the city`s trash by the year 2000, from the current 2 percent.
Many details have to be worked out, and the council should waste no time in getting the rules in order. It also should resist any temptation to tamper with the program`s basic outline.
Recycling must be mandatory to have a reasonable chance of being effective. It is true that every little bit helps in reducing the flow of garbage, but Chicago needs a lot of help in forestalling its garbage crisis, and voluntary programs are too easy to ignore. Under Mayor Sawyer`s plan, people who don`t separate their garbage could be fined from $25 to $50. That`s one way to do it; another is to refuse to pick up garbage that hasn`t been separated. Either way, officials should not be shy about insisting that residents comply.
The program should be convenient, with residents given containers to sort out their recyclables: glass, metal, paper, plastic, yard wastes. The most successful programs nationwide, including some in the Chicago suburbs, work because they make it easy.
And the mayor is right in proposing that private scavengers be hired to pick up recycled material. Using them should be cheaper and more efficient than creating another army of city workers, as tempting as that might be.
Mr. Sawyer also is right in saying that recycling is just a first step in solving Chicago`s garbage problem. The city is expected to run out of landfill space in about four years, it has only one incinerator in operation and it still has no master plan to meet future needs. That, too, was in the works when Mr. Washington died, and it now is up to Mr. Sawyer to make sure the job is finished.