Boston's wasted opportunity
FOR YEARS, Boston's stodgy Department of Public Works could never get up much enthusiasm for the idea of recycling. When the department got new leadership in 2006, environmentalists hoped for rapid progress in the curbside collection of paper, metal, plastic, and glass. Yet Boston still dodders along with a frail residential recycling rate of 15 to 17 percent, about half the national average.
A recent issue of Waste News, a trade magazine, surveyed recycling efforts in the 30 largest cities in the United States. There were some huge failures, such as the 2.6 percent rate in Houston, where residents can wait several years for a recycling bin. And there are great successes, such as San Francisco, where 69 percent of waste-stream materials are diverted from area landfills. The average rate was 32 percent.
For a city that promotes green buildings and technology, Boston's recycling rate is an embarrassment. And the city is tossing away money, to boot. Dumping fees now stand at $80 a ton. Minimally, the city should be able to achieve a 25 percent recycling rate in the next four or five years. The Menino administration hasn't been shy about setting specific targets for crime reduction and affordable housing production. It should do the same for recycling.
The most optimistic recycling signs in the city are the 95-gallon containers now being wheeled to the sidewalks by homeowners in parts of Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, and West Roxbury. Even small families are finding they can fill the colossal containers with recyclables each week, according to Boston environmental chief James Hunt. And the so-called single-stream bins don't require residents to sort paper from cans or bottles.
The sooner the bins are made available in the rest of the city, the sooner the trash talking about Boston can stop. 