On Beacon Hill, greener is better

by Sandra Miller

As residents transition from summer living to fall cleanup, the Beacon Hill Civic Association is planning to get even greener and cleaner.
The BHCA just finished distributing introductory packages of plastic bags to educate residents about the city’s new single-stream recycling program, which replaces those awkward and bulky blue bins with clear bags.
Already, residents are getting used to replacing those awkward bins with bags that are easier to sort, store and transport recyclables, although the city and the BHCA are still fielding questions, such as where to buy the clear plastic bags (most markets sell clear bags, but any clear bag will do), and when it’s ok to put out the bags (after midnight).
“They are really working hard, keeping every thing clean,” says Suzanne T. Besser, executive director of the Beacon Hill Civic Association.
Added BHCA’s Ross Levanto, “Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been working with the City of Boston to basically deliver to residences all over the hill, everything you need to know about recycling. The BHCA provided the manpower and delivered them. Basically the neighborhood is being very aggressive in promoting the single stream.”
Suffolk University has also educated its off-campus students in recycling tips. “They have been great,” said Levanto. The Beacon Hill Block Party on Sunday also hosted a recycling station for further education.
Levanto is a member of what is now called the Neighborhood Life Committee, with new members Rajan Nada of Garden Street, and Meghan Haggerty of Joy Street, as well as Janet Terlizzi of Mount Vernon Street. The committee also works on street lights and brick replacements.
They and the rest of the BHCA also aims to encourage more of the larger buildings to purchase toters, to get after dog owners to pooper-scoop for their pets, and to ask for street sweeping through the winter, rather than taking a break from November to April. “It makes a real difference,” Besser said.
When the leaves fall, the Hill’s fall edition of its twice annual Neighborhood Cleanup Day is Oct. 18. “The neighborhood get people to clean up the streets, and the city provides extra workers to pick up the bags, along with other fun activities,” says Levanto, who believes it will be similar to last fall’s event, which featured “Scare Street Stations” at the playgrounds, a neighborhood potluck at the BHCA headquarters, and T-shirts.
Levanto says the BHCA chuckles at itself when it goes through old photos and articles and letters, almost all of which are concerned with keeping the neighborhood clean. “Cleanliness is always an issue,” Levanto says. “We have three days of trash pickups, and things still get messy.”
But he also says that over the years, he has seen big changes. “What has really worked well is the aggressive towing posture by DPW Chief Dennis Royer,” he says. “They will do whatever they can to remove cars during street sweeping days. That has had a dramatic effect on Beacon Hill.”
Before the towing, residents were ticketed: “To be totally blunt, the ticket for being parked illegally was a parking expense to people, it was cheaper than parking it in a garage,” he says. “But he reality is, the street sweeper comes in at taxpayers’ expense, and it was useless because trash is trapped underneath the cars.”
He also praises the smaller street sweeper “green machine” that’s easier to get around the tight neighborhood. “The two or three days after move in day, Sept. 1, I walked down Myrtle Street 1 and it was a disaster,” Levanto recalled. When called up City Hall for the Green Machine, it did the trick quickly. He says the BHCA has also been able to request the machine to make extra passes around the neighborhood during certain special events, such as the garden tours.