About two dozen south suburban garbage collectors have been enlisted as Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart's latest crime-fighting tool.
The 25 garbage collectors who work at Waste Management in Alsip are being trained to look for suspicious activity while on their routes, such as drugs in the garbage, marijuana plants rising from someone's yard, people peering into windows and abandoned vehicles lingering on streets for days.
With the economy gripping budgets statewide, Dart said he is essentially adding officers to the streets at no cost. The partnership with Waste Management is free.
"We're adding people with eyes and ears (already) out on the street on a regular basis to help suppress crime," Dart said during a news conference Tuesday as garbage trucks roared to and from their depot in Alsip. "Who are you going to come across to see more of the comings and goings of the neighborhood than the people who work in waste hauling, up and down alleys, up and down blocks on a regular basis?"
Garbage collectors will only "observe and report," said Jim Karls, a Waste Management municipal marketing manager. They will have no police power.
Waste Management started "Waste Watch" in 2004, and so far the company has implemented the program in more than 100 communities nationwide, said Tony Farneti, Waste Management Midwest group security director. Orland Park began the program in 2006, Karls said.
The routes of Alsip-based garbage collectors hauling waste from commercial businesses and homes cover more than a dozen southwest suburbs, including Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn, Orland Park and Palos Heights.
Dart said he eventually wants to expand Waste Watch throughout suburban Cook County.
Training involves watching a 15-minute video about how to spot crime and what to look for, as well as working with a sheriff's deputy.
The training is mandatory for waste haulers, but any information they gather on their routes and give to the sheriff's office is confidential, Farneti said. Waste Management emphasizes to the collectors that their involvement is limited to calling sheriff's deputies.
John Gabrys, who has been a garbage collector for 16 years, said training he received two years ago to be more alert for suspicious activities has helped while on the job. He said he wouldn't have known to look at large containers as potential terrorist threats.
"Now I keep my head up and maybe take a peek," said Gabrys, 37, of Frankfort.
Janet Kelly, 67, of Alsip, welcomes the Waste Watch program.
"The more eyes the better," Kelly said.
But Tony Johnson, 29, who lives in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, which is not part of the Waste Watch initiative, wonders about privacy issues.
"You need safety, but is going without privacy worth (it)?" Johnson said.