Recycling in Chicago: Past, Present, and Future

Carl A. ZimringRoosevelt University

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this talk are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of Roosevelt University or the Chicago Recycling Coalition.

Chicago Scrap, Junk, and Rag Firms, 1881-1917

Sources: The Lakeside Chicago, Illinois General & Business Directories 1881, 1890, 1910, & 1917.

Chicago’s Scrap Recycling Trade c. 1920

Surveys estimated more than 1800 scrap peddlers, processors, and brokers operating in Chicago at the end of World War I.

Source: Library of Congress.

Source: Library of Congress.

Chicago Scrap Yard, 1942

Source: Library of Congress.

Zoning

Municipal laws attempted to rationalize urban space, make it more habitable to residents.

Attempts to eliminate nuisance industries from residential neighborhoods.

This yard in a zoned industrial area away from homes and children. (1940)

Source: Library of Congress.

Source: Gerald A. Gutenschwager, “The Scrap Iron and Steel Industry in Metropolitan Chicago.”

Source: Gerald A. Gutenschwager, “The Scrap Iron and Steel Industry in Metropolitan Chicago.”

Source: Chicago Reader.