Boston Restaurants Aren't Recycling

The Herald unleashed an expose of Boston restaurants who haven't been separating recyclables from the trash. In a time in when it's crystal clear that people need to at least try to be less wasteful, restaurants don't think they need to pitch in.

City Councilor Michael Ross wanted restaurants to recycle, but they fought him on it. This affects the mayor's attempts to "turn Beantown into Greentown" and bring in all those green-collar jobs:

Boston may tout itself as a green-friendly city, but environmental advocates say the Hub lags far behind other municipalities in policing food and drinking joints, which account for tens of thousands of tons annually in waste sent to landfills.

Here's a clue: Buy a few extra garbage pails and separate the stuff out. How hard is it if the rest of us manage to do it at home? It can be a real drag going through your trash and breaking down boxes, but Somerville and Cambridge restaurants can do it, so why not Boston? But it's not just the restaurants. The article also mentions that trash haulers aren't exactly helping. The CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association asked, "Recycle? Recycle how? Who’s going to pick the stuff up? Boston presently lacks the insfrastructure to pick up, haul and recycle."

Is that bull? Or do Cambridge and Somerville really have Boston beat when it comes to recycling? Mayor Menino clearly has a lot of power, or at least Boston Magazine thinks so, and maybe he should put a little power toward this issue.

Image of a dump truck from CDC.gov.