|
|
Contact: Mayor's Press Office, 617-635-4461
|
Services Extended to Elders Living in
Boston Housing Authority Developments
Mayor Thomas M. Menino commemorated America Recycles Day today with the announcement of the addition of 37 Boston Housing Authority developments to the city’s recycling program. The newly added developments serve elderly people, bringing the City closer to achieving its goal of providing recycling services to all residents, whether in single-family homes, large apartment buildings, or public housing.
“Boston is committed to providing all of our BHA residents with this service,” Mayor Menino said. “It saves the city money, and we preserve our environment by having less paper, cans, bottles, and trash in our landfills.”
In August, the City of Boston became one of a handful of cities across the United States to provide recycling services to public housing developments, a program that is the result of three years of study. The recycling program visited more than 500 large apartment buildings and designed custom recycling programs to meet the needs of each building. This research was accomplished with the help of a number of community groups, including the Boston Neighborhood Recycling Coalition, Recycling Action, the Fenway Civic Association, the Allston/Brighton Community Development Corporation, and a number of recycling block captains throughout the city. The City now provides recycling services to 50 percent of the large apartment buildings in Boston, and landlords and property managers who do not currently recycle are encouraged to look at the BHA’s successful programs as an example.
“I know that the perception is that recycling is difficult in large apartment buildings, but as we see here, recycling is easy and clean,” Mayor Menino said. “The entire city benefits from having less trash and fewer trash problems.”
The recycling program in Boston began in 1988 with volunteers collecting newspapers, bottles, and cans at monthly drop-off centers. In 1994, the City expanded the program and now residents can recycle over 30 different materials at the curb on a weekly basis. Since the beginning of the curbside recycling program, Boston residents have recycled 56 percent more of their trash. In 1999, the City saved over $2.3 million from recycling trash as opposed to burning or burying it. The composting program generated $30,000 worth of compost from collected leaves, which was distributed to 80 community gardens.
In addition to reaping financial and environmental benefits, residents of the City can also take advantage of other initiatives run through the recycling program. Through a project deemed the best re-use program in the state, residents can take their unused paints, stains, solvents, and varnishes to neighborhood recycling centers, which in turn make these materials available to residents looking for an inexpensive way to maintain the interior and exterior of their homes. Thus far this year, the City has given away 3,000 gallons of paint to 1,400 residents.
Mayor Menino made today’s announcement at the Amory Street BHA housing development in Jamaica Plain. The Mayor thanked children from the Bunker Hill BHA family development who spent a day with Amory Street seniors making posters to let their neighbors know about the recycling program. The children surprised the Mayor by presenting him with one of their creations, thanking him for his support for recycling in Boston.
|
