Dive Brief:

• The Chicago City Council created a policy in 2000 requiring municipal haulers collect waste at single residential households and multi-unit buildings that contain four units or less. 
• The inspector general conducted an audit and discovered that city taxpayers are paying $3.3 million annually for 1,393 non-profit properties to receive trash pick-up. The city council did not approve this measure and these properties should have contracted private commercial waste services at their own expense. 
• City Hall is currently creating a self-certification and audit process to address the issue, but no final resolution has been determined.

Dive Insight:

The city is struggling with the logistics of offering free or reduced-rate city services to non-profits such as universities, hospitals and churches. Chicago is evaluating if the garbage collection should be eliminated or approached using a needs-based policy similar to a standard implemented for non-profits using free water. The city loosely agreed to offer water at a discounted rate to certain institutions instead of paying the full rate or receiving it at no cost.