Archives For Recycling

Providence 2013 State of the City Address

gcpvd —  January 29, 2013 — 1 Comment


Mayor Angel Taveras

2013 State of the City Address

Providence Is Recovering

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 • (as prepared for delivery)

Photo of the Mayor delivering the State of the City from the Mayor's Office.

Photo of the Mayor delivering the State of the City from the Mayor’s Office.

Governor, Mr. President, honorable members of the Providence City Council, distinguished guests, and my fellow residents of our great Capital City –

One year ago I stood before you in this Chamber with an urgent message for our City and the entire State of Rhode Island. Providence was in peril. Despite many difficult decisions and painful sacrifices made to pull Providence back from the brink, we were still $22 million short of closing a $110 million structural deficit.

Crucial steps necessary to navigate our City safely through our Category 5 fiscal hurricane had not yet come to pass. We still needed to reform our unsustainable pensions. And we needed Providence’s large, tax-exempt institutions to contribute more.

As I stood before you on February 13, 2012, Providence was running out of cash, and running out of time. In the months that followed, there were some who said Providence could not avoid filing for bankruptcy.

BACK FROM THE BRINK

Today it is my privilege to deliver a much more hopeful report on the State of our City: Providence is recovering.

Through collaborative efforts and shared sacrifice, we have all but eliminated our City’s $110 million structural deficit, and we expect to end this year with a balanced budget. Working together, we have accomplished what few believed possible.

We were determined to address the root causes of Providence’s fiscal emergency and prepared to act unilaterally if necessary. And we knew our City would never achieve a lasting recovery without addressing our unsustainable and spiraling pension costs.

In April, following months of actuarial analysis and public testimony, this City Council unanimously approved a pension reform ordinance that put Providence’s pension system on a sustainable path.

We recognized that passing the ordinance would likely lead to a high-stakes lawsuit with no real winners – because a decision in favor of the status quo would push our City over the brink. However, faced with the challenge of negotiating pension changes with more than 2,000 retirees who were not represented by a single entity, we saw no alternative.

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Recycling/Trash collection resume tomorrow, Amtrak does not

gcpvd —  October 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

Recycling and trash collection in Providence resumes tomorrow, however the schedule has been modified as follows:

  • Residents who have collection on Monday put out trash and recycling Tuesday evening to be collected on Wednesday.
  • Residents who have collection on Tuesday put out trash and recycling Tuesday evening to be collected by Thursday.
  • Residents who have collection on Wednesday put out trash and recycling Wednesday evening to be collected on Thursday.
  • Residents who have collection on Thursday put out trash and recycling Thursday evening to be collected on Friday.
  • Residents who have collection on Friday put out trash and recycling Friday evening to be collected on Saturday.

Due to flooding in New York, there continue to be massive service disruptions on Amtrak:

Therefore, there will be no Northeast Regional service between Newark and Boston and no Acela Express service for the length of the Northeast Corridor on Wednesday, October 31.

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New City of Providence recycling program

gcpvd —  September 26, 2012 — 9 Comments

The gist of the program is next month, all households are set to receive a new grey bin which will now be used for trash. The current green bins will be retrofitted with a blue lid and will now be your super duper single stream recycling bin.

Here’s all the details from the City:

Download a flyer explaining the program pdf

Providence Launches New Recycling Initiative Wednesday, September 26, 2012

‘Big Green Can’ barrels currently used for trash will now be used for recycling; larger barrel aims to increase recycling rates by making it easier to recycle.

big-green-canProvidence’s Big Green Can is about to get greener and recycling is getting a lot easier in the capital city.

Starting October 1 and continuing through the end of the year, every Providence household will receive a new, 65-gallon gray trash barrel. As soon as a gray can is delivered to a household, its large, 95-gallon ‘Big Green Can’ barrel currently used for trash will be used for recycling. Waste Management will replace the lids on the Big Green Cans with a bright blue lid and graphic instructions on the new recycling procedure.

The larger recycling barrel, coupled with the statewide transition to single-stream recycling, aims to increase recycling rates by making it easier for all residents to recycle.

“I am excited to launch this recycling program and make a new, stronger commitment to sustainability in Providence,” said Mayor Angel Taveras. “Cities that have implemented similar programs have seen increases in their recycling rate. That is great for the environment, and it is also great for our bottom line. It has never been easier to recycle and together, we are building more sustainable, greener future for our capital city.”

Residents should begin using their Big Green Can for all recyclables as soon as they get their new gray barrel for other trash. Recyclables don’t need to be sorted – simply put all plastics, paper, glass, metal cans and foil together in the Big Green Can.

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ecoRI News: New Launch Date for Single-Stream Recycling

The goal of single-stream recycling is to dramatically increase the volume of recycable items collected, thereby extending the life of the state landfill. The new sorting machines can bundle a variety of plastics, such as coffee cups and yogurt containers. Selling bales of these plastics to recycling processors is expected to bring in additional revenue to the RIRRC and participating cities and towns.

Posted by gcpvd on March 26, 2012 In Asides, Environment , , ,
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Mandatory recycling coming to Providence

Jef Nickerson —  September 22, 2009 — 34 Comments

Recycling is Beautiful

Photo (cc) Scott Ableman

ProJo reports today on a new recycling effort for the city of Providence.

Starting Nov. 2, any resident who doesn’t separate paper, glass and cans will not have their trash picked up, Cicilline said. Residents have an option, however: they can purchase the bins for $5 apiece, or they can label their own trash cans with recycling stickers.

The city plans to embark on a comprehensive recycling publicity campaign, called Green Up Providence, through mass mailings, informational stickers attached to garbage cans, public service announcements and outreach through the public schools.

Excuse me, the city plans to launch a publicity campaign about the fact that your trash will not be picked up starting November 2nd? November 2, 2009? Plans? Launch? Really?

Oh Oh! The other part, the goal is to get the recycling rate to 20%. Really? So, if I don’t separate my trash, you won’t pick it up, but your goal is to only get 20% compliance? What happens to the other 80%?

Oh oh!! I have another idea! How about you pick up the recycling people already put out today. My recycling sits out for weeks at a time until I finally give up and throw it all in the trash bins to get it off my sidewalk.

TWENTY PERCENT? As the ProJo reports, state law requires municipalities to be at 35% by 2012, which is like, not that far away.

Can you tell that I am just so annoyed that it is 2009 already, and this city can’t seem to suss out simple city things like recycling and overnight parking? If you’re going to launch a recycling campaign, your goal should be 100% compliance. How in creation can you say that your trash will not be picked up, but then have a 20% compliance goal? Your publicity campaign should be well launched before you hold press conferences on the matter. Go ahead, Google “Green Up Providence.”

/rant

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