[*BCM*] METRO: biking in Boston

[Jeff Rosenblum]

http://www.livablestreets.info/node/406

BIKE OVER TRASH TO SAVE ON GAS
By MIKE MENNONNO, letters at metro.us
May 2, 2006 -- Page 9

Click here to view a printable PDF of this article.
http://www.livablestreets.info/files/2may2006_metro_bikeovertrash.pdf

With T fares set to go up again, and not by a small increment, I’m more 
committed than ever to cycling as a viable alternative to cars and mass 
transit. Not only is it a greener way to get around, it’s a great cardio 
workout, and it’s cheaper and faster than the T. What more could you 
want? Since I started biking to work in the Back Bay from Dorchester, 
I’ve cut my morning commute time in half.

Sure, there are problems with cycling in Boston. The streets are not 
bicycle-friendly, for the most part, and neither are those using them. 
And not only are motorists a danger to cyclists, cyclists are a danger 
to each other. But part of the reason for this is the lack of dedicated 
bike lanes. Organizations like Livable Streets (www.livablestreets.info) 
are struggling to raise awareness of Boston’s enormous potential as a 
greener, more livable city, but it is an uphill battle, for sure.

I’ve noticed a lot of things about Boston I didn’t before I started 
cycling in the city every day. Something I’ve noticed anew, since my 
commute takes me through the South End, is the city’s rubbish problem. 
It isn’t just the South End, of course, but it’s there that it seems 
most visible. Riding through these beautifully gentrified neighborhoods 
the night before or the day of rubbish collection is like a trip to 
Fresh Kills Landfill. Rubbish spilling out of torn plastic bags piled 
high and strewn all over the sidewalk.

This is not a new problem, by any means, which is why the lack of a 
real, viable solution is so discouraging. Residents point to the 
ragpickers who make their way through the streets before the city’s 
rubbish and recycling trucks do, tearing open the bags in search for 
recyclables, and leaving a mess behind that brings animals to forage 
after them. But blaming the ragpickers ignores the simple fact that if 
residents were really recycling, the ragpickers would have nothing to 
pick out of their garbage. It’s a symbiotic relationship.

But the city’s “rubbish rules” do nothing to discourage it. While the 
rubbish code states that “There must be sufficient metal or durable 
plastic barrels for storing of refuse generated in building,” it 
contradicts this dictate on the very next line: “Disposable 2-ply [or 
heavier] plastic bags may be used instead of trash barrels for curbside 
trash collection.” In short: you must use trash barrels, but you don’t 
have to. And a stroll through the South End on rubbish days will attest 
to the fact that no one does.

A couple years ago I took the utterly futile step of writing 
Commissioner Casazza, pointing out the absurdity of the city’s rubbish 
code, and got a rapid reply from an underling that read: “Please contact 
Code Enforcement. They will send an inspector out and possibly fine the 
responsible parties.” The problem was, of course, precisely that no one 
was in violation of any code. Talk about rubbish.

MIKE MENNONNO is a freelance writer living in Dorchester.