Click on the image to download this recycling guidelines flyer, which was developed by the Illinois Task Force for Recycling Contamination Solutions. The Chicago Metro REO Campaign project partners will create new materials, exhibits, and ads to educate residents about recycling.
Recycling programs in the Chicago area are well-established, and residents embrace recycling as a daily sustainability action they can take, yet the diversion rates in our region are stalled at 30-35%. While this is on par with the national average of 32.1% reported by the EPA in 2018, it is not sufficient to meet either the EPA’s National Recycling Goal of 50% by 2030 or the Metro counties’ individual diversion goals. Solid Waste Management Plans for area counties all identify contamination in the recycling stream as a significant problem that increases the cost of recycling, which is borne by municipalities and residents.
The Caucus is partnering with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO), DuPage, Kane, Will, and McHenry Counties on the Chicago Metro Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Campaign to increase the collection of recyclable materials and decrease contamination of the recycling stream in our region. The Chicago Metro REO Campaign is funded by a U.S. EPA grant and had a formal kick-off on Nov. 13, 2024, shortly before America Recycles Day (Nov. 15).
The grant’s formal outreach campaign, Feed the Cart, launched on October 20, 2025. Education and outreach for the campaign includes marketing, a new website —FeedTheCart.org — social media presence, advertising, public relations, and grassroots, community-level outreach.
Feed the Cart resources for municipalities are available to view and download below. Assets include drafted newsletters, social media graphics and language, recycling education best practices toolkits, and the Caucus’ Recycling Education & Outreach Specialist, Juliet Mathey, who is available to attend community events and educate residents on recycling.
The Chicago Metro REO Campaign is conducting a baseline study of recycling rates in municipalities in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties and aims to boost per-capita recycling tonnage by 15%. Please see the project map for participating municipalities. The campaign will conduct an inclusive education and outreach campaign to reach diverse and disadvantaged communities. The goals of the campaign are:
- Get residents of the Metro region excited about recycling again!
- Educate residents to increase recycling and reduce contamination at the community level.
- Improve the quality of materials placed into the recycling stream throughout the region, resulting in a less contaminated, more marketable stream of recyclables.
- To encourage residents and businesses to “buy recycled,” to seek out products made from recycled material or packaged in post-consumer recycled content.
For more information about the Chicago Metro REO Project, contact Caucus Director of Environmental Initiatives Edith Makra at emakra@mayorscaucus.org.
To request availability for Caucus Recycling Education & Outreach Specialist to attend your community event, contact Juliet Mathey at jmathey@mayorscaucus.org.
Alignment with Greenest Region Compact and Climate Action Plan
The project is aligned with these Greenest Region Compact goals:
Recycle materials across all sectors. Engage the community in waste reduction and recycling.
Our 2021 Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region includes the objective and strategy: Manage waste sustainably. Increase the volume of waste that is recycled and composted.