Clean up BOSTON's (CUB) intention is to give a forum for problems and solutions to live in a cleaner city, brighter and more equitable City. Collectively, as citizens, we need to share a voice of a place we want to value and the quality of life we want all our citizens to enjoy no matter socio-economics or location within the City. We need to find a vision for better habits, LITTER is a huge problem, especially in many neighborhoods; there is a lack of receptacles, lack of leadership, lack of vision, lack of respect to our communities. Together, we need to create a City that is greener, cleaner, accessible and more equitable across the entire City.
HOW it began
The winter of 2015 we had the heaviest snowfall in decades and with the piles and piles of snow mounting up it was no surprise that as the snow melted in the spring there was a dirty little secret revealed. Boston is one trashy city. For those that may choose to forget, it was quite the topic of conversation. To refresh our memories, here is a little review of published recognition to this problem below. Notice that this was National news. As an active resident in my own community who had been ‘cleaning up’ after others for decades, while pregnant, while carrying a child on my back, and while working with neighbors to make our own little corner more livable. I also noticed in other tucked in neighborhoods small groups were trying to combat litter in their communities by creating unified community trash barrels that neighbors were in charge of with no support from the City of Boston. These efforts were so impactful for their little corners, but it took this group nearly two years. This is something that the City should be supporting! The City should be supportive to neighborhoods and individuals in creating a higher quality of life for all residents, not just those that have access to resources.
— FROM THE HEADLINES OF THAT FATEFUL WINTEr —
Remnant of Boston's Brutal Winter Threatens to Outlast… - New York Times
This Trash-Covered Glacier Is a Monument to Boston's Godawful Winter - Gizmodo
Boston still has snow piles _ and they’re filled with trash - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Wintah’s ovah: The last of Boston’s snow finally melts away - CNN
Boston Has Already Removed 200 Tons of Trash from the Streets And as the snow continues to melt, there's a lot more where that came from. - Boston Magazine
WHAT DOES CUB DO?
CUB continues to grow a diverse representation from communities across the City as well as those that visit, work and play in Boston. We highlight grassroot efforts to share and discuss quality of life issues across Boston, including sustainability, accessibility, bikeability, equity, litter reduction, etc.. CUB helps with clean ups, advocates for better policies, discuss litter reduction and accessibility issues as well as use education and connectivity of programs the City of Boston offer, but people don’t know exist. We have helped and advocated for the City to be more sustainable and let other like minded groups surrounding the Boston Harbor, Neponset River, biking, tree coverage, also share their work. Education is a large part of what CUB is about, on the premise that people just want to know more– they want to know the right thing when it comes to recycling and sustainability. I started this group to discuss quality of life issues and inequities of resources ACROSS the City. CUB brings those that love the City of Boston together to make the City greener and cleaner with a shared vision.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZER
I want to tell you a little about me to help you understand who I am and why I started this group. My name is Sierra, I have lived in Dorchester for 20 years where I am raising my family. I started my own design and event company, Lusterity Design + Events, which to its core, reflects my values of diversity, sustainability, local, care of makers and giving back to the community. I started Boomerang Bags Boston, with 6 other women leaders to help support my daughter with two of her other friends who petitioned the City and Mayor to support the bag ban and won! It was five long years of working towards it, but they never gave up, and the three girls won the Community Engagement Award by the City of Boston in 2019. I have been a Girl Scout Co-Leader since 2012, which has done lots of work to make the City better.
I have Zero-Waste training and have served on the City of Boston’s Zero-Waste advisory board because I believe it is the only way we can remain a City in the future. I have bees and animals, compost, recycle, and tried to do away with trash altogether (just use a bread bag amount of trash in a week for our family) and my dream is to one day visit a recycling plant (it’s a real hurdle). I am telling you all this to be as transparent about me and my intentions.
This is 100% voluntary. I do it because I believe it is important to do what you can do to make the City and the World a better place. I hope all who joined this group believe we can help make Boston become a better City for all.
Clean Up Boston is a platform for people who are passionate about creating a green, equitable, accessible and cleaner City for all led by Sierra Rothberg of Lusterity, Boomerang Bags Boston and a local Girl Scout leader #68277 which coordinates many sustainable initiatives including their Specialty Recycling Days that started in Spring 2020.