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Environmentalists are calling for an end to Chicago’s blue-bag recycling program.

Betsy Vandercook with the Chicago Recycling Coalition says the program, which is 10 years old this month, is a failure.

She wants the city to invest in separate bins and trucks for recyclables.

She says the region is running out of landfill space. She adds that reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills can save on disposal costs.

""Most of our waste goes to Indiana from the city of Chicago,"" she says. ""It’s going to start going to Iowa, to Michigan, to Alabama, to Mississippi, whatever, and those trucking costs are huge.""

Vandercook says only 8 percent of Chicagoans participate in the blue-bag program.

North Side Ald. Joe Moore says it’s high time Chicago had a separated recycling program like those in many suburbs.

He says in January, he’ll introduce legislation requiring such a program within the next three years.
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