Community Partnership | LRS: Chicago-Area
Background
Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS), the waste management provider for four of Chicago’s six recycling zones, serves over 1 million households in the Windy City and 34 surrounding communities. Offering both curbside collection and drop-off services, LRS plays a vital role in making recycling accessible to residents across the region.
Social media utilized in outreach campaign
As part of its ongoing efforts to increase foodservice packaging access in the Chicagoland area, FPI had already established a partnership earlier that year with Groot Industries, another key waste management provider in the region. Building on this foundation, FPI collaborated with LRS to further expand recycling initiatives. Given LRS’s role in managing a significant portion of Chicago’s recycling zones, the company’s involvement was integral to broadening the reach of recycling education and enhancing recovery efforts across a significant portion of the city and its surrounding communities.
Operational and End Market Planning
As the demand for efficient recycling infrastructure grew, LRS recognized the need for optimized capabilities to handle the increasing volume of recyclable materials from their customers.
Grand opening of new LRS MRF “The Exchange”
With support from an equipment grant from FPI and the Carton Council of North America (CCNA), LRS opened a new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), called The Exchange. The new MRF was designed with advanced technologies and industry-leading practices that enabled it to process 25 tons of recyclables per hour. The equipment grant funded a cutting-edge optical sorter, installed on the container line, to efficiently process a range of recyclable materials, including paper cups and food and beverage cartons.
Once sorted, these materials are baled into polycoat bales and sold to mills in the Great Lakes region. The high-quality fiber from these materials is used to create new paper products like paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and even new paper cups. By diverting these items from landfills and transforming them into valuable products, the facility supports the circular economy and strengthens recycling efforts in the region.
Outreach & Education
To mark this significant milestone, LRS hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the new facility. The event was attended by representatives from LRS, FPI, CCNA, and the City of Chicago, highlighting the strong partnership and shared commitment to sustainable waste management practices.
With support from an FPI communications grant, LRS then launched an outreach campaign to increase resident awareness across its Chicago footprint about the expanded recycling program. The campaign emphasized the importance of recycling clean and empty materials and educated the public on newly accepted items in the recycling program. The campaign included social media posts and GIFs, an updated recycling flyer, an educational video, digital and theater ads, and transit advertisements tailored to the Chicagoland community.
Outdoor media utilized in outreach campaign
Results
The campaign reached 312,000 people, generating over 5.5 million impressions across multiple platforms. These metrics demonstrate the broad awareness generated by the outreach efforts and the campaign’s ability to effectively inform and engage the Chicagoland community about the expanded recycling program.
Building on the success of this initiative, FPI then partnered directly with the City of Chicago in Spring 2024 to provide residents with an additional round of outreach and education, further enhancing awareness and support for the city’s recycling efforts. You can read more about FPI’s partnership with the City of Chicago in the Chicago Summary.
Next Steps
In October 2024, LRS released its first annual sustainability report, revealing impressive figures for 2023. The company diverted over 92,000 tons of paper, cardboard, and cartons, 33,000 tons of metal, 23,000 tons of glass, and 10,000 tons of plastic. Additionally, more than 800 guests toured The Exchange, and over 1,200 students and community members participated in educational initiatives, helping to deepen their understanding of sustainability and the recycling process. The report also highlighted LRS’s emissions reduction plan, outlining efforts to decrease emissions through fleet decarbonization and enhanced landfill gas capture initiatives.
December 2024
Foodservice Packaging Materials Accepted
Paper cups*
Paper bags
Pizza boxes
Molded fiber food packaging
PET cups
Polypropylene (PP) cups
Polypropylene (PP) tubs/containers/trays
Alumninum Foil Food Packaging
*New items added during partnership
