Profiles in Belmont: Dean Hickman

 Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Recycling  Comments Off on Profiles in Belmont: Dean Hickman
Jun 302023
 
Profiles in Belmont: Dean Hickman

By Elissa Ely Before he became chair of Sustainable Belmont, before the PhD in pharmacogenetics, before moving to the United States, certainly before any awareness of the environmental needs of a Massachusetts town next to Cambridge, Dean Hickman was picking up litter.  “Have been picking up trash anywhere I go since I could walk,” his Instagram says. Growing up in farm country west of London, traveling the footpath systems, Dean took the “Keep Britain Tidy” campaign of the 1960s to heart. Many decades later, on a late rainy afternoon when he could have been enjoying a mug of tea, we [READ MORE]

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How Can Belmont Reduce Single-Use Plastics?

 Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Recycling  Comments Off on How Can Belmont Reduce Single-Use Plastics?
Jan 042022
 
How Can Belmont Reduce Single-Use Plastics?

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. The United States generates more plastic waste than any other country in the world: 42 million tons, or 286 pounds per person, in 2016. That includes plastic waste the US exports to other countries with weak recycling systems (see links at end of article for details). Plastic waste lasts a long time and has many noxious effects (See “Think Twice About Single-Use Plastics,” Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter, November 2021). The Massachusetts legislature, a recycling leader in 1981 when it passed the “bottle bill” over Governor Ed King’s veto, has become a laggard. (See “Time To Pass [READ MORE]

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Time To Pass An Updated Bottle Bill

 Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Recycling  Comments Off on Time To Pass An Updated Bottle Bill
Jan 032022
 
Time To Pass An Updated Bottle Bill

By Janet Domenitz and Julia Blatt We need to stop kicking the can down the road.  Since its passage nearly 40 years ago, the bottle bill has created a successful recycling program in Massachusetts.  But time is catching up to the law, and it needs updating to deliver the best results. A lot has changed in Massachusetts since the original bottle bill was established in 1983. First, our waste problem has worsened. According to the new Trash in America report released by MASSPIRG and other regional public interest groups, the average American throws out nearly 1,800 pounds of trash each [READ MORE]

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New Group Seeks to Keep Belmont Beautiful

 Environment, July-August 2021, Lone Tree Hill, Volunteer  Comments Off on New Group Seeks to Keep Belmont Beautiful
Jun 252021
 
New Group Seeks to Keep Belmont Beautiful

By Jeffrey North In 2008 volunteers and government leaders in Mansfield convened, and more than 700 volunteers assembled to give that town a good spring cleaning. They formed a Keep America Beautiful (KAB) chapter the next year to continue their efforts. Now Belmont can do the same—drastically reduce the volume of refuse littering our public spaces and strengthen our sense of community by organizing volunteers and donations for a cleaner, greener place to live. Belmont can take its place among the 33 local nonprofit KAB chapters across Massachusetts (collectively KMB) that are making significant improvements to their communities. Litter attracts [READ MORE]

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