Radio frequency chips implanted in the trash carts will tell the waste hauler where to send the bill.
Lakeshore Recycling Systems is implementing the RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, system for the first time in Highland Park.
"Highland Park is the first community I know of in the Chicago area doing it," said Joshua Connell, managing partner with Lakeshore Recycling Systems, which took over refuse service in the suburb this year.
"We proposed it to Highland Park because we thought it was innovative," he said. "You have about 40 percent of Highland Park customers on volume service. They have to buy stickers and use one every time they put out their garbage. (The chips) make it as easy as driving your car down the toll road with I-Pass technology."
About 3,900 residential customers in Highland Park pay for trash service by volume, rather than enroll in a subscription service with higher monthly fees.
For residents who split their time between Highland Park and another locale, the volume-based service keeps down costs during the months homeowners are away and not generating any garbage.
Currently, customers who pay by volume purchase waste stickers for $2.45 apiece and affix one to their 35-gallon refuse cart when they take it to the curb for collection. They also pay a monthly service fee of $5.29.
Connell said many municipalities don't offer customers the option of paying per cart, a system sometimes referred to as "pay as you throw" by environmental advocates urging waste reduction.
The implanted chips, which link the trash cart to a particular customer and address, are read by a device on the garbage truck.
The firm's recycling carts also are equipped with RFID chips, which could eventually be used to monitor participation in recycling programs. Connell said the firm has no plans to use the technology to trace recycling participation to individual households.
The City of Highland Park issued a press release in May urging volume-based customers to use up their waste stickers because of the change coming Aug. 1. Any unused stickers may be brought to city hall for a refund up until Nov. 30.
Lakeshore Recycling Systems originally planned to switch to the RFID system in July, but pushed off the start date to allow customers more time to adjust.
Waste stickers are still required for yard waste, unless customers have paid for a subscription service.
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