A new recycling program is beginning today in the city of Chicago.

It pits the city’s Streets and Sanitation department against two private companies to see who can pick up recycling the most efficiently.

Lou Phillips is with Local 100, the union that represents Chicago’s streets and sanitation workers. He said the competition is a good thing for organized labor.

“We’re all striving for a common goal, and that’s to preserve our jobs and provide a service that we have provided to this city since the inception of 1001,” Phillips said. “And we’re going to continue to provide that service.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the competition will help expand recycling throughout the city.