- AROUND C-TOWN (25)
- CHINATOWN CALENDAR (41)
- LIFE AND STORIES OF ASIAN AMERICANS (8)
- THE CHINATOWN BEAT (5)
- The PU PU CHATTER (1)
- WORD ON THE STREET (83)
- September 2, 2008: What Are People Saying About Parcel 24?
- August 27, 2008: Selling Public Infrastructure and Privatized Chinatown?
- August 26, 2008: Reflections on Chinatown’s Former Movie Theaters
- August 26, 2008: Parcel 24: Draft Project Impact Report
- August 26, 2008: Hudson Street Gallery Grand Opening
- August 25, 2008: Films at the Gate and Fundraising Dinner
- August 25, 2008: Boston Herald: BRA Weighs Time-Limit for Projects
- August 21, 2008: Hudson Street Gallery
- August 19, 2008: Forum on 2nd Suffolk Senate Race
- August 18, 2008: Pictures of August Moon Festival, 2008
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Going Green is a huge movement that has been getting a lot of attention. So where does Chinatown stand on the subject? Sadly, to say the Green movement has yet to gain traction in our neighborhood. It was rather difficult for me to find individuals who were even willing to speak to me about this subject. The few locals that I did talk to about going Green do care about the environment, but must justify the cost of changing their operations. The main reason for the lack of following is the cost. Many of these locals feel that going Green would not improve their business. They don’t believe their customers are environmentally conscious. How can we change this?
So until the transition over to a more environmentally friendly operation is cost effective, it will be up to the consumers to encourage our local business owner that we care about the environment. Chinatown has always had a bad reputation about cleanliness but with everyone’s help, we can change this.
October 29, 2007 at 11:38 am
Our neighbors at the Leather District raised money to purchase 2 solar powered compactor trash cans. These self-powered trash cans will press the trash so more can be stored in one bin, while reducing the number of trips by sanitation trucks to empty the bins. With the amount of trash the restaurants throw out each day, this could be something usefuly for Chinatown. Here is a link in the Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/26/solar_power_compactors_press_the_mess_in_boston/
October 29, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Yes, those are called “Big Belly” trash compactors by a company called Seahorse Power based in Needham. I’ve met with Jim Poss, the founder, a few times about his product. However, it is quite a challenge to sell a Chinese restaurant on spending $5k on a trash compactor. The City has a contract to have these all over town.
Local businesses will not justify spending thousands on something that doesn’t generate revenue. Only until they start losing business or legislation passes, will a local business spend more to discard trash.
Check out Grill Zone in Allston (http://www.grillezone.com/). This is the best example of a Green Restaurant.
November 18, 2007 at 12:21 pm
You would think that with all the restaurant grease that some kind of biofuel/energy cogeneration would be a snap!
December 1, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Fabulous site. Keep it up ,best regards and shalom to all of you