Boston Recycling Rates Not So Hot

A NYT piece on Houston's abysmal recycling rate got us wondering about the rates in our own fair city. Turns out that, while we're doing much better than Houston, we still lag behind most major metro areas according to the WasteNews Municipal Recycling Survey cited by the Times. Boston recycles 15% of its total waste. Compare that to 34% in NYC, 38% in Philly, 42% in Baltimore, 55% for Chicago, and a whopping 69% in San Fran. Besides Houston, the only major cities surveyed with lower recycling rates than ours are Oklahoma City (3%), San Antonio (4%), Denver (10%), Charlotte (10%), Detroit (10%), Dallas (11%), Indianapolis (11%), and Columbus (13%). Is that really the kind of company we want to keep?

So why do we suck at recycling? Sprawl and fuel costs, reasons cited in Houston, don't affect our dense population quite as much. Landfill costs, cheap in Houston, are higher here, which you'd think would increase recycling rates. Bostonist informally surveyed several area restaurants regarding their recycling practices; most said lack of space and pickup options were the biggest barriers to recycling. Residentially, recycling is relatively easy: in Somerville, just show proof of residence to get yourself a recycling bin; in Boston, just send an email. Most neighborhoods have similarly simple protocols for residents, but recycling can be harder for apartment residents whose landlords haven't taken the necessary steps to facilitate the process.

Citywide, there are public recycling bins in some areas, though not nearly enough to accommodate need. This Bostonist is somewhat of a recycling fanatic, but has definitely found herself tossing a can or two in the trash when there was no recycling receptacle in sight. Recycling for businesses is always a sticky situation: the city doesn't want to handle it, because demand can be huge, but businesses don't always care enough to organize their own recycling. What to do?

So what do you think, Bostonians? Do you recycle? Does your business? How can we move up in the recycling ranks--and do we even want to?