With a series of recycling programs in place, Cambridge focuses on growing participation
Since 2023 is the first year without programs rolling out around recycling or composting, “it’s a good time for us to see where we’re at and what things we need to put emphasis on,” a Public Works official said.
City-issued trash carts arriving through June resist rats, spare workers and decrease waste
After the city delivers free, standardized, trash carts next month to more than 32,000 households, only those city-issued carts will be emptied by the Department of Public Works’ orange trash trucks making weekly rounds.
Great blue herons make a comeback
Cleanup efforts along the Charles River dating back to 1972 have helped bring back more great blue herons, but a debt is also due a couple of Boston socialites in 1896 and a Massachusetts Congressman in 1913.
Recycling contamination rate drops to 4 percent
Cambridge’s recycling contamination rate dropped to 4 percent last year from 11 percent in 2018, saving the city more than $100,000 for the year,
Check it out: How Cambridge libraries reopen before we’ve turned the page on coronavirus
For many in Cambridge, books feel like one of the main food groups. When libraries and bookstores closed in March due to the Covid-19 lockdown, some felt starved. Fortunately, with lower virus rates, the city’s main purveyors of books are open again, though operations are anything but normal.
Smallpox, cholera, influenza around Cambridge: How the region endured pandemics of the past
Suspending classes. Wearing cloth masks. Calls to avoid crowds and remain at home. Wipe downs of surfaces with disinfectants. Our coronavirus, social-distancing spring seems unprecedented, but New England has been coping with epidemics since its the first settlers.
Beating deadline, we’ve reduced trash by 30% in dozen years and set sights on goal for 2050
Cambridge residents have reduced the amount of trash they throw out by 30 percent in around a dozen years – meeting the city’s goal and beating its deadline by a year.
There’s no need to trash your tattered T-shirt; several paths to making a material difference
Your favorite T-shirt has seen better days. Now it’s ripped and tattered, and you’re about to toss it in the trash. Stop. You have other options, starting with the Boomerangs and Goodwill in Central Square that accept used clothing in good condition to resell, and drop-off bins throughout the city.
Bare naked pickup: Recycle your holiday tree
The gifts have all been opened, the sweets eaten. When it’s time to take down your holiday decorations, the city’s Department of Public Works makes it easy to dispose of your holiday tree – and return it to the garden as mulch.
Recycling contamination sees sharp drop, with benefits for Public Works bottom line
America Recycles Day came and went Friday with little notice, but Cambridge had cause to celebrate: In October, the city announced a significant drop in recycling contamination – to 6 percent from 11 percent in 2018.
