I have met Mayor Frank Jackson on several occasions. He has a true desire to see Cleveland among the top players vying for the title of America’s Greenest City. While we do have great parks in Cleveland, this doesn’t make our city truly “green”. We need access to more services. We are moving in the right direction, but if we want to come out anywhere on top, we need to speed it up.
RECYCLING I have spent a lot of time at city hall the last couple of weeks. I am pleased to see recycling bins in committee chambers. I am also pleased to see some bottle and can recycling units. Still, what about paper for the general public? Where are the bins for coffee cups to be composted? Recycling is a simple thing that can have huge impacts on a city “greenness” and we need to step it up-and it starts at city hall. If we can’t get our civic leaders and the people who visit them on board, how can we engage the average citizen. And by the way, still no curbside recycling in my neighborhood. When will this city wide roll out reach everyone? Recycling needs to be at every door and business. Public spaces need trash cans, and recycling units. We need to do a better job of educating the public. Our city council just passed several ordinances that educate the public on quitting smoking and obesity. I saw nothing on the agenda on reducing, reusing, or recycling. Most Clevelanders don’t even know exactly what can be recycled here, so how can we even make a recycle program work?
Mass Transit We need to make RTA work better and cost less. Right now, when I ride public transport, I don’t see a huge cross section of people. When I talk to friends, their concern is the ineffectiveness of the system. The overall system has been engineered to get suburbanites downtown to work. If we want to keep people in the city, while keeping their cars off the road, we need to make the system more accessible and ON TIME. Furthermore, RTA needs to have better educated staff and friendlier drivers. Recently, a colleague used the heart line to go to Case Western. The trip took much longer than it was supposed to, and no one could tell him where to buy tickets and the he couldn’t even get an all day pass. We have too many parking lots, and not enough shopping when it comes to downtown-and only one main rapid station…
Energy How about energy initiatives? The city’s power and gas companies offer no incentives. In Portland, Oregon the utilities offered rebates for insulating your water heater, replacing windows, or even disconnecting your downspouts. What are Cleveland’s utilities offering us? Nothing but higher prices-as far as I can see. Without the necessary incentives, there is little motivation for families to utilize energy saving measures-especially when they are struggling to put food on the table. Don’t forget that adding green energy to the economy could create new jobs and put people to work!
More than anything, we need to instill more civic pride. We need to find a way to include the general public in the process. Engage every citizen to make them proud of Cleveland as a green city, and they will be less likely to throw their trash on the street. Make them proud of our rapid transit and they are more likely to use it. Educate them on recycling, and they are more likely to do it. You are taking the right steps, Cleveland, now it is time to step it up.
Tags: Cleveland, Go Green, Green Policies, recycling
I am downtown Cleveland resident and am very disappointed with its lack of recycling. There are no bins, bars throw out glass bottles by the thousands every night, and the local trash service does not allow for recycling. I am very interested in coordinating a downtown effort to encourage recycling. Furthermore, I am am more than willing to do all the grunt work necessary.
If you have any suggestions or contacts, please let me know.
Unfortunately, recycling is a tough issue for Cleveland. Downtown is even more difficult as much of it is condos, apartments, and businesses. I know that businesses have to provide for their own waste disposal, which takes it entirely out of the hands of the city. Don’t the condos and apartments work the same way? I recommend dropping a note to your council person (probably Joe Cimperman) and the mayor. Also contact the waste disposal department of the city. The only thing that will do something about the thousands of pounds of glass that could be recycled by the bars and restaurants is to start your own grass roots campaign. If you could find a local recycling company that would be willing to pick up recycling from local area businesses, you would then have to work with the businesses to use it. It is a big job, but a noble one, if you have the time.