It isn't easy being green

The city of Aurora has been touted as a leader when it comes to environmentally friendly initiatives. Now, downtown business owner Sal Arenella would like to see the city take the lead on another one.

Arenella owns Eyeland Optical on Downer Place. Like many small business owners, he's big on recycling, saving his glass, plastic and cardboard every day. And, like many small business owners, he then takes all that glass, plastic and cardboard home with him to add it to his residential recycling pickup.

He does this because Aurora, like most communities, does not offer curbside recycling pickup for commercial businesses or for multi-unit apartment buildings. If businesses want recycling pickup, they have to arrange it with a waste-disposal company themselves, which can sometimes be too expensive for small-business owners to afford.

That's why Arenella would like to see the city consider a commercial recycling pickup contract, similar to the residential one they already have with Allied Waste. Curbside pickup, he says, would make it easier for businesses that already recycle and encourage those who don't to take the plunge.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could put the recycling out on the street?" Arenella said. "I would pay a minimal fee for that."

Aurora doesn't offer this service, but they're not alone. According to Aric Henschen of Allied Waste, there are no communities in the Fox Valley that contract with his company for commercial recycling pickup, although many businesses, in Aurora and elsewhere, have their own recycling deals with Allied.

The problem, according to Aurora officials, is the logistical nightmare of setting up such a citywide franchise agreement. Residential recycling is simple -- one pickup a week, along with the garbage pickup. But for businesses, it might not be that easy.

Each business has very different needs, said Carie Anne Ergo, assistant chief of staff to Mayor Tom Weisner. Some may require recycling pickup more than once a week, some less, while some may need only cardboard, and some glass and plastic -- all of which makes drafting a single contract for pickup much trickier, and perhaps much costlier.

And with a $19 million deficit projected for next year, Aurora is looking to cut back its services, not expand them. The 2010 budget, expected next month, likely will see several nonessential city services scaled back, and perhaps eliminated.

"We are always open to exploring ideas," Ergo said of commercial recycling pickup, "but they need to be cost-neutral for the city."

Henschen said the city has never asked him how much commercial recycling pickup might cost. The city also does not register businesses and so cannot provide Allied Waste with a precise number of customers for a franchise agreement. Henschen would not speculate as to how much such a contract might cost.

Similar issues have kept other municipalities from following the same path. According to Dan Dinges, director of public works for Geneva, some city businesses have asked about recycling pickup, but city leaders have not considered it.

"It's complicated, and we don't have enough staff," Dinges said.

The city of Naperville has different issues. According to Beth Lang of the city's public works department, the locations and configurations of the commercial buildings in Naperville are "not conducive for this type of pickup." The amount of recycling generated by some businesses, as well as on-street parking, would make curbside collection "extremely difficult for a service provider."

Naperville does, however, host a recycling drop-off center for residents and small businesses. It's open three days a week at 180 Fort Hill Drive. Aurora offered a drop-off center for years at the Aurora Transportation Center, but it was for residents, not businesses, and it closed down once Allied Waste began curbside pickup.

Go south to Yorkville, however, and you'll find people like Marta Keane, who believe city-wide commercial recycling pickup is not only possible but a very good idea.

Keane serves on Yorkville's Green Committee, formed in 2007. That committee has recommended that Yorkville explore a citywide agreement for commercial recycling pickup, partially because it would save wear and tear on the roads. With so many businesses using so many different waste haulers, she said, the streets are feeling the burden of too many trucks.

Plus, she feels a citywide contract would encourage recycling, particularly among business owners who can't afford their own private contracts now. She said the cost of compiling a database of businesses would be offset by the fee waste-hauling companies would pay to get the city-wide contract.

Keane said the idea came from the business community. The committee's recommendation has not made its way to the Yorkville City Council yet, but Keane is optimistic.

But in downtown Aurora, the clamor for curbside recycling pickup for businesses just isn't there, according to Dan Hites, who heads the Green Committee for Aurora Downtown, an organization of downtown business and property owners. Hites owns River Breeze Art and Yoga on Downer Place, as well as the building it sits in -- a building that also includes the River's Edge Café.

Hites contracts with Waste Management for his trash and recycling pickup and uses a trash container behind the café. He said the idea of a franchise recycling agreement has been discussed, but he hasn't heard many business owners calling it a priority.

Still, Arenella hopes the city takes a look at the idea. He believes businesses could afford a small monthly fee and wants to see more of them recycling.

"There has to be a way we can work things out and still save the environment," he said.