Skip to main content

Quigley Goes “Undercover” At Blue Cart Recycling

June 16, 2014

CHICAGO – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley worked alongside employees at Chicago's Blue Cart Recycling, collecting recyclable materials and loading trucks as part of his Undercover Congressman series. The series connects Rep. Quigley with constituents at their place of employment to better understand the challenges they face in their industry and daily lives.

"Loading the trucks today was exhausting, and my hat is off to the dedicated men and women at Blue Cart who do it day in and day out," said Rep. Quigley. "Blue Cart Recycling works hard to reduce landfill waste and create a greener Chicago by providing 600,000 households with an easy and accessible recycling service at their doorstep. Waste diversion saves Chicago millions of dollars each year, which just goes to show that what is good for the environment can also be good for our bottom-line."

Image
DSCN3879

Rep. Quigley loads recycling materials onto trucks with Chicago's Blue Cart Recycling Program.

Image
DSCN3897

Rep. Quigley rides along during a shift with Chicago's Blue Cart Recycling Program.

The Chicago Blue Cart Recycling program provides residents with a single stream recycling system, in which all recyclable materials are collected and transported together – requiring no sorting or bagging by the individual resident. Materials are taken to a city-approved recycling center where they are sorted, then packaged for delivery to manufacturers who reprocess or reuse the materials to make new products. In 2013, the City collected over 85,000 tons of materials and saved approximately $3.7 million through diversion of refuse to recycling.

Since taking office in 2009, Rep. Quigley has performed a wide range of jobs as an Undercover Congressman, including cleaning animal pens as a zookeeper at the Lincoln Park Zoo, pouring metal at a local metal refinery, icing cakes at his neighborhood bakery and delivering mail with United States Post Office.

Rep. Quigley is a stalwart supporter of the environment and believes smart environment and infrastructure investments will strengthen the Chicago area and improve the economy. He has received one of the highest scores from the League of Conservation Voters for his record on environmental issues and serves as a member of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC).

Image
House  Sealpress