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Half-Empty Blue Bins: Recycling the Beacon Hill Way


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  4. brycepatingre
    • John McCarthy
    • Subject
    • Heather McDermott
    • Subject
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Beacon Hill, a neighborhood of Boston, MA, is littered with trash for collection on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Yet, recycling can only be found on the streets of this historic neighborhood on Fridays, and some bins are less than full. This pod examines recycling in Beacon Hill through the eyes of two residents and the experiences of the director.
brycepatingre

6 responses // Half-Empty Blue Bins: Recycling the Beacon Hill Way

  • I never realized how inconvenient yogurt was. But seriously, good work brining these issues to attention. $15 dollars for a recycling bin? That's ludicrous. Bins should be free, no if ands or buts. People need to take an active interest in recycling. Its this laziness that kills us. There is no recycling where I live in Boston, none. I have paper bags full of recycling lining the hallway of my apartment. The nearest place I could bring it all is whole foods, but am I really supposed to dump 8 bags of recycling into their one small bin? I already know that when I move out I will have to fill my car with this recycling, drive it to Connecticut, and recycle at home. That's insane. This is a major US city. People need to practice what they preach, and it starts with the government.
    NicoRaineau
  • recycling is actually a big hassle in most cities. if your city's taxpayers don't pay for door to door recycling service (as is the case with most cities), then you do have to pay for recycling pick up. and remember that you're not actually paying for the blue bin, really, you're paying for that recycling truck to come around to your house and pick up your recycling. it's the same thing for trash. you pay for a trash truck to come up to your door to pick up your trash.

    if you really dig recycling, the smartest way to go about it really is to call up your trash company, and ask them where big bins are located throughout the city, and then take your bags of recyclables there.

    but you're right. recycling is definitely not as easy as just sticking it outside your door. i guess that's just tough luck for people who thought being a good environmental steward was easy.
    ashabpatel
  • Here your first bin is free, but after that they're $4 each. The recycling bags are free all day long, though, and they are for paper and cardboard. You just pick them up from city hall during business hours and they always have plenty on hand.

    Mind you, we are restricted to 2 standard size garbage cans a week here, but our recycling pick-up is unlimited.
    Elligirl
  • I'm happy to see that people are watching the pod here at Current and responding with their own recycling stories. Thank you all.
    Nico: We should do a follow-up pod regarding your Boston neighborhood. It doesn't make sense that some neighborhoods within Boston are allowed to recycle while others are not. Shouldn't recycling within American cities be standardized and available to all?
    brycepatingre
  • http://www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/recycling/FAQ.a...
    The part about the bins doesn't make sense. Recycling bins are provided (and delivered) for free in Boston. Depending on the number of units in your bldg, you'll either use the blue carton type or the big wheely kind. Can't imagine why they would want to charge for one.

    Further discussion of the video over at Universal Hub. Is this a parody? http://universalhub.com/node/16049#comment-45198
    boston_buddy
    1 response to this

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