Goals

The year-long Recycling Participation Pilot Project undertaken in 1999-2000 aimed to increase participation in the curbside recycling program among residents of Area 4. In doing so, the project hoped to generate a sense of neighborhood accomplishment that can be shared and enjoyed. The project also sought to engage Area 4 young people, who are eager, willing and hungry to get involved in positive activities in their neighborhood. Finally, the project intended to bring city agencies and neighborhood organizations together to work on one common goal, and to thereby build bridges from which lasting relationships can grow.

Did It Work?

Yes! A 35% increase in recycling in Area 4 earned the community $4500 in grant money for beautification. Grant money generated by recycling in Area 4 was returned to the neighborhood by the Department of Public Works in the form of a cash grant to a broad-based coalition of Area 4 organizations. In this way, Area 4 residents experienced direct benefits as a result of their recycling efforts. The coalition was the winner of a competitive grant application process, and included the following organizations: Cambridge Area 4 Community Connections Coalition, the Zeitgeist Gallery, Maynard Elementary School, the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, the Community Arts Center, the Cambridge Community Outreach Tabernacle and Cambridge Youth Soccer.

At the time of the project, the Commonwealth gave the City $8 for every ton of material recycled. The coalition proposed to use the recycling grant money raised to build three "Art Boards" throughout Area 4. These boards will be permanently mounted on the outside of buildings or in parks, and will use squares of billboard material to display the artwork of area young people on a continually rotating basis.

Why Did We Do The Project?

At the time of the project, the City as a whole was recycling about 31% of what it used to throw away. However, much material that could be recycled was and is still is being thrown away. The Recycling Participation Pilot Project marked the first time that the City’s recycling staff worked interactively with residents of a single neighborhood in Cambridge to try to increase recycling participation in that neighborhood. The results of the pilot project in Area 4 have been used to help guide efforts to increase recycling participation in other City neighborhoods and city-wide.

Why Area Four?

Area 4 has a history of strong civic participation, which helped to get the word out about the benefits of increased recycling. Also, while there’s room for improvement in recycling all over the City, the recycling rate in the eastern third of the City tends to be lower than in the middle or western third, so we chose to focus our efforts in this part of the City first.