By Amy Galblum
Enacted in 1983, the current Massachusetts bottle bill has provided an economic incentive of 5 cents per bottle for consumers to return used beverage containers; it has had impressive results important to all of us.
Currently, 80% of redeemable bottles are recycled in Massachusetts. After more than two decades, the effectiveness of a bottle deposit has been proven. In a meeting with GreeningRozzie Board members last week, Jim Hunt, Mayor Thomas Menino’s chief of Environmental and Energy Services, noted that, “The current bottle bill is the most successful recycling program known to mankind.”
The success of the current bottle bill can be measured in keeping our streets, beaches and parks clean. However, they are not clean enough.
The 1983 “Beverage Container Recovery Law” covers only beer, malt, carbonated soft drinks, and mineral water. In the last decades there has been a noticeable increase in the sale of bottled water, sports drinks, iced teas, coffees, and flavored water. Unfortunately, only 20% of these non-redeemable bottles are recycled, even with the ubiquity of curbside recycling, single stream bins (large household mixed recycling), and increased public awareness. We can do better, and we can do it with the expanded bottle redemption bill now before the state Legislature.
Industry representatives and lobbyists from beverage suppliers and grocery stores are against the expanded bottle bill and are once again poised to derail any additions to the list of redeemable bottled drinks.
They have threatened us with the specter of higher prices even though surveys have shown that prices are not higher in New England states with bottle deposits than they are in states without bottle deposits. It is also clear that voluntary recycling supported by industry voices is no match for a bottle redemption fee. The expanded bottle bill has been characterized as a tax, but a bottle deposit is not a tax as it is redeemable and will actually save tax money now set aside for trash collection. There are already systems in place in grocery stores and redemption centers for recycling and deposit returns that could be expanded to include more bottles.
An expanded bottle bill is in the interest of all Boston residents. There are too many environmental advantages to turn it down.
Currently, more than 1 billion non-carbonated containers end up as litter, buried in landfills or burned in incinerators each year in the Commonwealth.
According to Kenneth Kimmel, Mass Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, an estimated 750 million of those bottles would be diverted from the solid waste stream under an updated law.
A bottle redemption cost would be the best and most cost effective litter prevention measure possible. The expanded bottle bill would save money for the city of Boston – an estimated $500,000 per year in costs for glass and plastics that would otherwise be tossed into the trash.
Would the industry like to contribute that amount to the city of Boston to cover the costs they now incur?
The GreeningRozzie board supports bills intended to expand the bottle law to include other drinks and recommends that residents and business owners in Roslindale also back this initiative.
This article first appeared in the Roslindale Transcript.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Learn About Buying Local Food and Sharing
By Ken Phillips
Local food and food sharing is important to GreeningRozzie because buying local supports the local economy, lowers our carbon load from less transportation required, and the food gets to us sooner after it's picked - it's fresher.
Kate Cannery of Needham’s Neighborhood Farms says, “Once you have good food, you’ll never go back.”
Local, sustainably grown food is also more nutritious. According to U. S. Department of Agriculture research reported this year by Mother Earth News, “The commercially grown vegetables, fruits and grains that we eat today are significantly less nutritious than these foods were 100 years ago, or even 30 years ago.”
According to the article, protein concentrations in wheat and barley dropped 30-50% from 1938 to 1990. Calcium content in broccoli dropped 66% from 1950 to 2003. Yields may have increased from “fertilization, irrigation and other environmental means” but the value of the food decreased. Even worse “nutrient declines in processed foods are much deeper and broader than the declines of fresh, whole foods.”
In my experience, food grown locally is completely different from food grown commercially. It seems that commercial food is grown to look good, have a long shelf life, and tolerate more transport. In France and Switzerland, emphasis is on shopping frequently for the freshest local food: fruits, vegetables, grains and meats. Many restaurants feature seasonal food, and emphasize the taste of food grown or raised locally. The changing recipes add variety throughout the year.
There's something very nice about eating locally – consuming what the ground supports for you here and now.
GreeningRozzie board member Kim Patch belongs to a CSA that has been offering locally grown vegetables year-round for the past two years. Some vegetables are stored in the ground and harvested from under the snow, others are stored in greenhouses.
"Some of the winter vegetables taste different - the carrots get sweeter," said Patch. “We also get things like garlic, onions, parsnips, squash, cabbage and kohlrabi year-round,” she said. "A couple hundred years ago eating more locally and knowing what local carrots tasted like in the winter was more commonplace. I like going back to those traditions."
Eating locally is better for the environment, and better for us. It's nice being closer to the real world, said Patch. "You're more connected to the place where you live and the weather and how it connects to your food." It also builds community. "We're in a pickup group with neighbors," said Patch
GreeningRozzie has plans to increase the sense of community through local food potluck parties. We're thinking it would be nice to share thoughts on local food, healthier food and more economical food by having a series of potluck parties where we'll bring food made with local ingredients.
One goal is to figure out how to be more economical in acquiring organic and whole foods like grains. We may, for example, buy a 50 lb sack of organic whole grain and split it up as part of a potluck party. Kate Hebel, UMass Extension volunteer, believes that “potlucks can help diversify your diet by introducing you to new foods and help foster community spirit.”
Barbara Kingsover wrote “Animal Vegetable Mineral” about eating local for a year. Her family had a farm and access to farmers markets. They gave everyone in the family one exception to the local food rule – her husband chose coffee, her daughter chocolate, another daughter dried fruit, and she chose spices. Each also had to find the best source for the exceptions. This story shows that you can source a large percentage of what you eat locally with a little ingenuity.
GreeningRozzie also has an idea for a "tool share." We can share tools relating to all kinds of home activities including gardening and canning. We’d like to see GreeningRozzie help people do as much local food as possible because it's good for people (especially kids) good for the environment, and good for local farmers.
At our next community meeting on Wednesday, July 20, we'll explore what we as a community can do, including planning local food potluck parties where we share ideas, sources, food, and recipes, and explore bulk buying of organic and whole foods and tool sharing. Join us at the Roslindale Community Center at 6:30 to hear local experts on these topics and to contribute your own ideas.
Come to the meeting to help the GreeningRozzie effort to:
Promote and provide information for better family food
Promote purchase of food produced locally
Help everyone grow their own food in yards, porches and balconies and in school, residence and community gardens
Advocate for better city, state and national food policy.
How to get involved:
GreeningRozzie's Monthly Community Meetings, Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Roslindale Community Center
July 20 – Local food potlucks, bulk purchases and tool sharing – Kim Patch
Aug. 17 – Green products: How to have a healthy home – Janet Levatin
GreeningRozzie's information tables at Roslindale Farmers Market, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Adams Park
July 23 - Trees and tree care - Pam Sinotte
Aug. 6 - Green Streets in Roslindale, Liz Carver and New England Climate Action Summer Bike Team
Aug. 13 - Kids health and fitness - Sam Warren
Aug. 27 - Green products - Janet Levatin
Volunteers needed
Media and PR. Volunteers to send announcements about GreeningRozzie events to newspapers, organizations, schools, websites, and other contacts.
Community resources. Volunteers to collect information about resources in Roslindale that support green efforts
Sign up at www.GreeningRozzie.org. For more information, write to Ken@GreeningRozzie.org.
This article first appeared in the Roslindale Transcript.
Local food and food sharing is important to GreeningRozzie because buying local supports the local economy, lowers our carbon load from less transportation required, and the food gets to us sooner after it's picked - it's fresher.
Kate Cannery of Needham’s Neighborhood Farms says, “Once you have good food, you’ll never go back.”
Local, sustainably grown food is also more nutritious. According to U. S. Department of Agriculture research reported this year by Mother Earth News, “The commercially grown vegetables, fruits and grains that we eat today are significantly less nutritious than these foods were 100 years ago, or even 30 years ago.”
According to the article, protein concentrations in wheat and barley dropped 30-50% from 1938 to 1990. Calcium content in broccoli dropped 66% from 1950 to 2003. Yields may have increased from “fertilization, irrigation and other environmental means” but the value of the food decreased. Even worse “nutrient declines in processed foods are much deeper and broader than the declines of fresh, whole foods.”
In my experience, food grown locally is completely different from food grown commercially. It seems that commercial food is grown to look good, have a long shelf life, and tolerate more transport. In France and Switzerland, emphasis is on shopping frequently for the freshest local food: fruits, vegetables, grains and meats. Many restaurants feature seasonal food, and emphasize the taste of food grown or raised locally. The changing recipes add variety throughout the year.
There's something very nice about eating locally – consuming what the ground supports for you here and now.
GreeningRozzie board member Kim Patch belongs to a CSA that has been offering locally grown vegetables year-round for the past two years. Some vegetables are stored in the ground and harvested from under the snow, others are stored in greenhouses.
"Some of the winter vegetables taste different - the carrots get sweeter," said Patch. “We also get things like garlic, onions, parsnips, squash, cabbage and kohlrabi year-round,” she said. "A couple hundred years ago eating more locally and knowing what local carrots tasted like in the winter was more commonplace. I like going back to those traditions."
Eating locally is better for the environment, and better for us. It's nice being closer to the real world, said Patch. "You're more connected to the place where you live and the weather and how it connects to your food." It also builds community. "We're in a pickup group with neighbors," said Patch
GreeningRozzie has plans to increase the sense of community through local food potluck parties. We're thinking it would be nice to share thoughts on local food, healthier food and more economical food by having a series of potluck parties where we'll bring food made with local ingredients.
One goal is to figure out how to be more economical in acquiring organic and whole foods like grains. We may, for example, buy a 50 lb sack of organic whole grain and split it up as part of a potluck party. Kate Hebel, UMass Extension volunteer, believes that “potlucks can help diversify your diet by introducing you to new foods and help foster community spirit.”
Barbara Kingsover wrote “Animal Vegetable Mineral” about eating local for a year. Her family had a farm and access to farmers markets. They gave everyone in the family one exception to the local food rule – her husband chose coffee, her daughter chocolate, another daughter dried fruit, and she chose spices. Each also had to find the best source for the exceptions. This story shows that you can source a large percentage of what you eat locally with a little ingenuity.
GreeningRozzie also has an idea for a "tool share." We can share tools relating to all kinds of home activities including gardening and canning. We’d like to see GreeningRozzie help people do as much local food as possible because it's good for people (especially kids) good for the environment, and good for local farmers.
At our next community meeting on Wednesday, July 20, we'll explore what we as a community can do, including planning local food potluck parties where we share ideas, sources, food, and recipes, and explore bulk buying of organic and whole foods and tool sharing. Join us at the Roslindale Community Center at 6:30 to hear local experts on these topics and to contribute your own ideas.
Come to the meeting to help the GreeningRozzie effort to:
Promote and provide information for better family food
Promote purchase of food produced locally
Help everyone grow their own food in yards, porches and balconies and in school, residence and community gardens
Advocate for better city, state and national food policy.
How to get involved:
GreeningRozzie's Monthly Community Meetings, Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Roslindale Community Center
July 20 – Local food potlucks, bulk purchases and tool sharing – Kim Patch
Aug. 17 – Green products: How to have a healthy home – Janet Levatin
GreeningRozzie's information tables at Roslindale Farmers Market, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Adams Park
July 23 - Trees and tree care - Pam Sinotte
Aug. 6 - Green Streets in Roslindale, Liz Carver and New England Climate Action Summer Bike Team
Aug. 13 - Kids health and fitness - Sam Warren
Aug. 27 - Green products - Janet Levatin
Volunteers needed
Media and PR. Volunteers to send announcements about GreeningRozzie events to newspapers, organizations, schools, websites, and other contacts.
Community resources. Volunteers to collect information about resources in Roslindale that support green efforts
Sign up at www.GreeningRozzie.org. For more information, write to Ken@GreeningRozzie.org.
This article first appeared in the Roslindale Transcript.
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