July 28, 2010
Mayor shares recycling goals and successes
Recycling is one of the easiest steps individuals can take to keep Boston’s streets clean and reduce waste disposal costs. We have already made Boston one of the greenest cities in the nation, but we still have a lot of work to do. The City of Boston has worked hard to improve our citywide recycling programs in recent years by expanding recycling to every street corner of the city through the Recycle More! initiative and supporting the expanding of the state Bottle Bill.
Last summer, the City of Boston announced that residents no longer have to separate paper and cardboard from cans and bottles through the Recycle More! program. Over the past year, the City of Boston has delivered 55,000 large wheeled carts to residents throughout the city with the new "single-stream" recycling process. With these new 64-gallon recycling bins, we are making it easier for residents and businesses to recycle and maintain the beauty of our city. Recycle More! has not only made it more convenient for residents to recycle, but it has also helped the City of Boston save money. For every ton of trash recycled, the City saves $70 on resident trash disposal fees. The program is very important to maintaining Boston’s environmental and economic sustainability and it is a great example of how we are working to ensure the long-term health of our city.
For years, I have supported the state’s Bottle Bill legislation and its effort to promote recycling and help keep our neighborhoods clean. Last week, the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy took an important step in advancing legislation that will expand the definition of beverage containers to include water bottles and sports drinks. When the Bottle Bill first became a law in 1982, no one could have predicted the huge increase in consumption of bottled water and sports drinks. Today, these containers often litter our streets, business districts and parks. Not only would the expansion of this bill save important municipal resources spent on trash collection, but it is estimated that Massachusetts would generate an additional $15-20 million in revenue as a result of the Bottle Bill expansion.
In Boston, we continue to move our city forward with innovative new green projects and initiatives, and our collective efforts in sustainability are the reason Boston is recognized as one of the greenest cities in the nation. The Recycle More! program is just one example of government and community working together to create a more sustainable future. We are headed in the right direction, but we need to continue to work together to advance important legislation and support individual efforts to maintain clean streets and beautiful neighborhoods. I appreciate everything that the City and our residents have done so far and I urge everyone to continue their recycling efforts so that Boston remains a clean and beautiful place to live and work, now and well into the future.
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