Keeping our Parks and Open Spaces Clean

We in Newton pride ourselves on the many beautiful woodland areas and playing fields in every neighborhood of our community. Sadly, it is hard to visit our parks in recent years without encountering bottles, cans, wrappers, boxes, broken glass and other waste strewn about. Every year, hundreds of volunteers do what they can to pick up some of this garbage, but each year the problem worsens. It is well within our ability to have clean, well-maintained parks. Clean parks have the ability to improve our quality of life and property values and to make a statement about the kind of community we live in.

Summary of Proposed Solution

We will adopt the four-point clean parks plan that has been proven effective in other communities:

plentiful waste containers that are frequently emptied;

locally-accountable open space management; and

community-based partnerships and public education efforts; and

strict enforcement of littering laws.

Discussion and Implementation Plan

i) Waste Container Management

Garbage cans adjacent to playing fields are quickly filled during athletic events with water bottles and other recyclable containers. The addition of recycling containers in our parks, as discussed in Part A of this section, will significantly reduce the overflow that results in much of the loose trash in our parks. However, even the best waste receptacles properly placed in high-use areas will overflow if not emptied regularly. It is essential that we empty our waste receptacles before they reach capacity. Simple computer modeling can calculate the most efficient routes for collection of these containers. Ideally, sensors in each container would send a signal through the City’s WiFi network (see C-6 below for discussion) when the container is ready to be emptied. Also, neighborhood cooperation and feedback will go a long way toward identifying which containers tend to fill up quickly and at what times.

ii) Locally-Accountable Open Space Management

With a reduction in garbage overflowing from trash cans, the amount of labor to pick up trash and other litter will be reduced. City staff will therefore be freed for other park maintenance responsibilities. Upon encountering a potential problem, park users will be able to contact those responsible for maintaining the park through our customer service and feedback system. Thus, open space managers will be able to allocate resources as needed.

iii) Community-based Partnerships and Public Education Efforts

By partnering with park users and community groups, we can generate increased volunteerism for park maintenance efforts and improve feedback channels to track and address problems. Neighborhood associations, youth sport leagues, and people who live near parks may wish to participate in “adopt-a-space” programs when given the full support of the City.

iv) Strict Littering Enforcement

It is important that laws prohibiting littering be taken seriously. We will track and monitor the number of littering violations being written in each park and the level of public satisfaction with the cleanliness of that park. We will likely find that after some initial tickets are written, the level of public satisfaction will increase and the number of tickets that need to be written will decrease.