Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Menino’s recycling program reaches Beacon Hill

By KC Cohen

BEACON HILL—Every Friday morning, John McCarthy hikes up the steep slope of Joy Street, his eyes scanning the sidewalks for clear, bulging plastic bags. The city recycling coordinator is tracking the community’s recycling efforts.

“No calculations have been made,” said McCarthy who works for the Boston Public Works Department. “This is just something that I do on my own.”

The city is trying to increase its recycling rate, and Beacon Hill is the latest neighborhood to adopt Mayor Menino’s “Recycle More, Trash Less” campaign. The program seeks to simplify recycling by allowing residents to place all recyclables in one container, a method known as “streamline recycling.”

The program began in Jamaica Plain in July 2007, where residents received a 95-gallon cart for all types of recyclables.

“The results were staggering,” said Jim Hunt, the city’s chief for environmental and energy services. “There was an immediate 53 percent increase in recycling, and that level of effort has continued.”

Because of limited space in Beacon Hill, the Public Works Department worked with the Beacon Hill Civic Association in September to distribute 30-gallon clear trash bags to be used to streamline recycle. The department mailed each household a description of the new program and a 30-gallon bag.

Hunt said that the department has seen an increase in the amount of recycling on Beacon Hill, but he doesn’t have any statistics to show for the increase.

Some residents are still confused about the recycling process, despite the civic association’s efforts to educate the community.

“We don’t recycle,” said Megan Blanchette, an Emerson College student who lives on Joy Street. “Back home…I'm really strict about recycling, so I'm not really sure why I don't do it here.”
Blanchette said she doesn’t understand the recycling process and does not know where to buy the clear plastic bags.

The civic association frequently receives calls from Beacon Hill residents asking where to purchase the bags, said Suzanne Besser, executive director of the association.

A box of 60 bags can be purchased at Charles Street Supply for $16.49.

“We’re concerned that residents don’t want to use the plastic bags,” Besser said. “They continue to use the old blue bins, which let recycling blow away and then sit empty on the sidewalk all day while the residents are at work.”

Suffolk University has also increased its efforts to recycle, said Erica Mattison, special projects coordinator for campus sustainability at Suffolk. The university has increased its recycling levels from 5 percent to 33 percent through the purchase of additional recycling receptacles and the launch of an education campaign run by student volunteers.

The Beacon Hill Civic Association is meeting with John McCarthy and Susan Casino, director of the Boston Public Works Department’s Recycling Division, on Friday to discuss the state of recycling on Beacon Hill since the adoption of the program.

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