Chicago residences, which receive garbage collection services provided by the Department of Streets and Sanitation, pay a garbage fee of $9.50 per month per dwelling unit. The fee will pay for a portion of the costs associated with weekly garbage collection services provided to these residences.
Half of Chicago households (buildings with five dwelling units or more) pay for garbage collection service from a private provider. The City garbage fee impacts the other half of Chicago households (buildings with four dwelling units or less), which receive garbage pickup from the City.
The City’s garbage fee remains lower than the average fee paid by the half of Chicago households required to contract for private garbage collection. Chicago residents living in buildings with five or six dwelling units pay a private garbage hauler on average $10 to $16 per unit per month for private garbage removal. Further, the City’s garbage fee of $9.50 is comparatively lower than the average fees paid by residents of surrounding suburbs.
The garbage fee appears on a unified utility bill for City-provided water, sewer, garbage services and water-sewer tax charges. The unified utility bill allows residents to receive one bill and make one payment each billing cycle, eliminating multiple payments or separate bills for City-provided services and charges. This unified utility bill will continue to match the resident’s current water and sewer billing schedule – generally every other month for metered water accounts and every six months for non-metered water accounts.
Do not know your account type? You account type (metered or non-metered) is listed on your bill in the blue box next to your Bill Summary.
Metered Accounts
The typical garbage fee charges that will appear on metered unified utility bills are detailed below:
|
Number of Dwelling Units |
Garbage Charges Each Billing Cycle* |
| Single Family Home |
$19.00 |
| Two Unit Residence |
$38.00 |
| Three Unit Residence |
$57.00 |
| Four Unit Residence |
$76.00 |
*$9.50 per dwelling unit X 2 months
Non-Metered Accounts
The typical garbage fee charges that will appear on non-metered unified utility bills are detailed below:
|
Number of Dwelling Units |
Garbage Charges Each Billing Cycle* |
| Single Family Home |
$57.00 |
| Two Unit Residence |
$114.00 |
| Three Unit Residence |
$171.00 |
| Four Unit Residence |
$228.00 |
*$9.50 per unit X 6 months