The reflection on waste management in Chicago is based on the fact that a number of local counties are starting to set up shared waste management systems. The municipality of Chicago has organized selective collection and recycling of waste since 2000. However, Mount Greenwood is one of the wealthiest districts in the city. It is therefore an exact reproduction of the recycling systems implemented in Europe.
Other districts have devised more original mechanisms, working directly with informal street recyclers, in order to improve the collection service on the one hand, the rate of recycled waste on the other hand and, finally, the conditions of work of recyclers. These are, for example, districts of Edison Park, Gold Coast or Lincoln Park .
In each case, residents are encouraged to hand over their waste, previously sorted and separated in a colored plastic bag, to informal recyclers authorized by the municipality. The interest for the inhabitants is direct, since in exchange for a bag of recyclable waste, the recycler gives a voucher to the local resident, allowing him to benefit from a reduction on his next garbage collection tax.