By Rickie Harvey
As published on westroxburypatch.com
april 2013

If you do not have the time or space to compost on your own, the City trucks will once again be coming to collect your spring yard clean-up waste beginning this week on your recycling and trash pickup day. WRSE urges you to participate in this composting program by placing your yard waste and leaves in appropriate containers on the curbside by 7 am on your pickup day. The City composts the collected yard waste to fertilize the area parks.

Be sure to place leaves and other yard debris in large paper leaf bags or open barrels. Please do not place yard waste in plastic bags! Plastic bags cannot be composted or recycled (remember as well that you should never put any plastic bags in your big blue recycling bin, either). Avoid placing trash in your composting containers also, or they cannot be picked up by the trucks collecting yard waste.

It is helpful to label your open barrels of yard waste. You may request stickers that say “Yard Waste” for free (up to two stickers per household) online here or by calling 617-635-4500.

You may also put out sticks and branches for composting. They need to be a maximum of three feet in length and one inch in diameter. The City asks that you do not put branches into barrels; please tie them together with string for easy removal.

A tip for your yard: do not blow away all of your leaves. Allow some to stay as ground cover for your industrious resident worms, which will munch on the leaves and turn them into nutrient-rich soil.

This spring leaf and yard waste pickup continues through May 29. Thank you for participating in this  composting program in West Roxbury. If you want to learn more about composting and how you can make your own outdoor composting bin or where you can purchase bins for the back yard and also for kitchen scraps, click here.

Note about our  West Roxbury Goes Solar program: As of this date we have scheduled 99 free solar visits with residents who are interested in pursuing putting solar panels on their viable roofs and 9 solar panel installation contracts have been signed. This is an outstanding start for this initiative, which began just six weeks ago! The program ends on July 15, so contact us now to see if your roof is good for solar.

To learn more and to find out if your roof is good for solar, watch for us around town for more information or go to westroxburysolar.org right now.

If your roof qualifies for participation in the West Roxbury Goes Solar program, you can:

•           Have solar panels installed on your roof for a small investment and start saving right away.

•           Pay for the electricity your system produces at a rate that is lower than your current rate.

•           Consider options to own the panels yourself or have the system insured, maintained, and repaired for free throughout its lifetime.

For the duration of the West Roxbury Goes Solar program, which ends on July 15, anyone in West Roxbury who has a viable roof and has a  no-cost, no-obligation solar visit from NSL will get a $50 gift card to Roche Bros. In addition, for every additional solar system NSL installs in West Roxbury during this community program, NSL will contribute $250 to support the West Roxbury community-farm project New Brook Farm (learn more about this exciting local initiative at newbrookfarm.org).

If your roof qualifies for solar panels, WRSE thanks you for taking this step for yourself, for our community, and for the environment. Thank you for helping us make West Roxbury Goes Solar a huge success!

If you don’t have time to compost your yard waste and leaves this spring, let the City of Boston do it for you! Collection will be on your recycling day from April 29 through May 24.

Place leaves and other debris in large paper leaf bags or open barrels labeled “yard waste.” Do not use plastic bags! You can request “yard waste” stickers for barrels by calling 617-635-4500.

Tie branches with string, 3-foot maximum length and 1-inch maximum in diameter. Do not put branches in barrels.

Put your branches, barrels, and/or bags on the curb by 7 am on your recycling day.

REMEMBER: Yard waste will not be collected during trash pickup for two weeks prior to the start of leaf collection, so hold onto your yard waste until the end of April/May for composting pickup.

Purchase BACKYARD COMPOST BINS and KITCHEN SCRAP BUCKETS at a discount:

Compost bin: $50
Kitchen bucket: $10

Boston Building Resources, 100 Terrace Street, Roxbury
Monday–Saturday, 9 am–3 pm

The City of Boston Public Works Department purchases the bins and buckets and sells them at a discounted price at Boston Building Resources. The kitchen scrap bucket has a handle and a lid and holds 7 liters. A clean and convenient way to collect food scraps for your compost bin!

For information on composting, click here.

Solar energy seems talked about now more than ever, so if you are like us, you may have been wondering whether your house has a roof that makes it possible to tap into this efficient, clean, and less expensive way to get your electricity. Wonder no more! West Roxbury Saves Energy and solar partner Next Step Living want to help you determine whether your roof qualifies as a good candidate for solar panels and, if it does, to encourage you to participate in West Roxbury Goes Solar, a program we launch this month.

WRSE asked Boston-based, home-energy leader Next Step Living to use their innovative technology to look at every home in West Roxbury to learn which roofs provide ideal orientation and space for solar panels. Over the upcoming weeks we will be working together to contact every West Roxbury resident whose roof meets these requirements through direct mail, door knocking, information sessions, and other events around West Roxbury.

Join us at the West Roxbury Branch Library on Monday, March 18 for an Information Session at 6:30 p.m. Also look for our solar information tables at Roche Bros. in March and April and at the YMCA during their Earth Week events in April, for just a couple of examples. You can sign up at any of these venues as well as learn whether your roof is a good candidate for solar.

Anyone who has a qualifying roof and completes a solar visit from Next Step Living will receive a $50 gift card to Roche Bros. In addition, for every solar system Next Step Living installs during this program, which ends July 15, NSL will donate $250 to the local initiative to bring a community farm to West Roxbury, called New Brook Farm (to learn more about this exciting project, visit NewBrookFarm.org).

If your roof qualifies to participate in West Roxbury Goes Solar, you can have solar panels installed on your roof for a small investment and start saving right away; pay for the electricity your system produces at a rate that is lower than your current rate; and consider options to own the panels yourself or have the system insured, maintained, and repaired for free throughout its lifetime.

Through this program, WRSE hopes West Roxbury residents will soon see many, many solar panels appearing on roofs all around our neighborhood. If your roof proves viable, we hope you will take this step for yourself, our community, and the environment and help us make West Roxbury Goes Solar a huge success.

The City’s Renew Boston initiative and West Roxbury Saves Energy are hosting a presentation to help you tighten up your home. Learn about no-cost energy assessments and incentives of 75% off insulation and air-sealing up to $2,000. The program includes rebates for heating and hot-water upgrades, appliances, and more. Refreshments served. Free and open to all.

If you have questions about these specific presentations or don’t want to wait to sign up for your free energy assessment, contact Erin Taylor at erin@renewboston.org or 617-524-3950 x 141.

For more information about the Renew Boston initiative, visit RenewBoston.org or call 617-635-7283.

Many of us are always looking for better ways to green our energy usage, not just by cutting back on how much we consume but also by determining where the electricity comes from. A goal for all of us should be to opt for as green and sustainable a source of electricity as possible. West Roxbury Saves Energy is very pleased to let you know that you can now sign up with a local nonprofit organization, Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and know that 100 percent of your electricity will come from renewable energy.

This new green electricity option became available from Mass Energy — teaming with the company Easy Energy — in January of this year to residents of West Roxbury. You might know that, while West Roxbury residents receive our service from NSTAR, we have the ability to choose from among a number of “suppliers” of our electricity. (If we do not designate a supplier, this service defaults to NSTAR.) The supplier of electricity determines its source, and designating a supplier allows us to have some control over the source(s) of our electricity, how green it is, and what it costs. Designating a different supplier from NSTAR does not mean you will receive a separate utility bill; the supplier’s costs appear on the same monthly bill you already get.

Easy Energy and Mass Energy offer two exciting program choices to its customers: New England Wind and New England GreenStart. All sources for New England Wind are new and local (primarily in Massachusetts and Rhode Island), and by enrolling in this program your participation helps to develop new wind power in our region. New England GreenStart sources all of its electricity from New England with 25 percent new sources; they include local wind, solar, digester gas, and low-impact hydro. You can read more on the Mass Energy Web site about exactly what these sources are, where they are located, and how they work.

So what is the impact on the bottom line of choosing one of Mass Energy’s programs for your electricity supply? Right now, the New England Wind program costs 4.1 cents above NSTAR’s Basic Service, and GreenStart costs 2.7 cents above. These charges ring up as substantially less than NSTAR’s own green-power offering, NSTAR Green. Also take note that if you sign up with Mass Energy, most of what you pay above the cost of Basic Service counts as a tax-deductible charitable contribution for federal income tax purposes. Finally, supporting Mass Energy in its endeavors so that this organization can continue to be a strong advocate for us as consumers, as well as for the environment, adds an incentive to sign up. As Mass Energy puts it, their goal is “to build a better world—not just a better bottom line.” But you might consider that the best bottom line for all of us is to do whatever we can to save our environment for our children and grandchildren, and greening your electricity is one very important step toward doing so.

Join us in February to hear about the new option from the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance for West Roxbury residents that offers 100% local, renewable energy—including wind, solar, digester gas (cow power), and low-impact hydro—to NSTAR customers. All resources are from New England. Because participation in Mass Energy’s renewable energy program contributes to the public good, payments to this program are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Find out more now or sign up here if you don’t want to wait until February.

The City will collect and recycle electronic waste for free from the public.  All electronics will be recycled in Massachusetts by Electronic Recyclers International, an E-Steward Certified recycler.

Materials accepted: Computers, monitors, televisions, LCD panels, printers, other computer related equipment, stereos, cell and other phones, power supplies, electronic games, VCRs, circuit boards, microwaves, and other household electronic devices.

Materials NOT accepted: Air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators, and  white goods such as washers, dryers, and stoves.  For disposal of the italicized items, call (617) 635-4500 to arrange a special pickup.  You may put the other items curbside for regular trash pickup.

West Roxbury Saves Energy — along with some 20 like-minded organizations from communities such as Newton and New Bedford recently attended a “Community Leaders Energy Summit” in Boston hosted by Next Step Living (NSL). Familiar to WRSE from our work with Renew Boston, NSL bills itself as a socially conscious, environmentally focused, results-driven organization dedicated to helping its customers lower their energy bills, increase the comfort of their homes, and reduce their carbon footprint. During the summit, we had a chance to catch up with Ben Harel, a Greater Boston Community Outreach Coordinator with Next Step Living whose territory includes West Roxbury. We asked Ben some questions to gauge West Roxbury’s scores on a report card of energy improvements. Read on to discover how our neighborhood is doing.

WRSE: How many assessments and weatherization upgrades has Next Step Living done in West Roxbury? How does that compare to neighboring communities?

Harel: Since September 2010, Next Step Living has provided some 782 assessments, resulting in 335 weatherizations in West Roxbury. This compares to 1,074 assessments and 418 weatherizations in Roslindale and 944 assessments and 351 weatherizations in Hyde Park. You can see there is still plenty of room for growth in West Roxbury.

WRSE: What are some of the programs Next Step Living offers that may be of interest in West Roxbury?

Harel: West Roxbury residents can take advantage of two amazing green programs: our no-cost energy assessment and our affordable solar program. The energy assessment is our most popular because it is a no-cost program paid for by MassSave. All homeowners and renters in 1- to 4-unit buildings who pay utility bills through NSTAR or National Grid can take advantage. In the energy assessment, one will receive no-cost CFL light bulbs, a no-cost programmable thermostat, and other instant energy-saving measures to help cut emissions and save on your bills. You will also receive a report and suggestions on how to further protect your home from unpredictable electric and heating costs.

WRSE: You mentioned an affordable solar program. How does that work?

Harel: The old model of buying solar was to pay $30k for a solar installation on your roof and then wait decades for it to pay for itself. We have a new model that we think makes more sense. Our most popular option of solar installation is the little-to-no-cost affordable solar. How this works is if you have a sun-bathed roof, we can install, maintain, and insure the solar array for as little as no money down. The homeowner then pays a low monthly rate (lower than their current electricity bill) to the solar company. We won’t install the panels unless we can guarantee we will lower your electric bills. People love this option. Next Step Living has done 23 installations in West Roxbury since 2011. [Note from WRSE: read below to learn how we plan to increase this number dramatically in 2013.]

WRSE: We have heard that only about 15% of roofs will be suitable for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. What do you look for in sites for potential installations?

Harel: This is true about the “solar elite 15%” of roofs. There are three characteristics of a good roof that are easy for you to memorize: The large part of the roof has to face south (southeast, southwest); it has to have minimal shading from trees and chimney; and it has to have a large enough flat roof area to hypothetically park three to four midsize cars. These characteristics can all be assessed from Google Maps images. If you think your roof fits these requirements, call us, and we can send a Next Step Living advisor free to your home to double check your roof.

WRSE: We understand that in addition to waiting for calls, you recently canvassed roofs in West Roxbury for potential solar PV installations. What can you tell us about that effort?

Harel: Next Step Living had a small canvassing campaign in West Roxbury recently. In total, it was 15 canvasser days’ worth of outreach, and our staff booked 25 solar home visits. This is solid success for the first time in a community. We were able to reach a lot of homes, and there was a lot of interest!

WRSE: Where else has Next Step Living done similar outreach and canvassing, and what have you learned that might apply to West Roxbury?

Harel: The ongoing Solarize Dedham program has had enormous success. This solar campaign has produced 27 signed solar deals in just eight weeks. This kind of town-sponsored, face-to-face outreach has made “going solar” into a community phenomenon.

*****

WRSE is pleased that we will be partnering with NSL in the upcoming few months to reach more West Roxbury homeowners who have viable roofs for solar panels to encourage them to go solar. Stay tuned for details on how you can learn more about this solarizing program and what incentives will be offered. In the meantime, don’t miss our program with Mass Energy on February 25 about their newly launched 100 percent green electricity option that won’t cost you extra and that allows you to take a tax deduction for your participation. For details, visit westroxburysavesenergy.org.

Even though winter is here and the trees are bare, in many ways West Roxbury is getting greener every day. Below are some recent developments that help make our town more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Thanks go to David Ertischek’s excellent green nose for news for bringing many of these improvements to our attention.

Centre Street’s holiday lights this year will be LEDs. You may already know that the street lights on Centre Street were upgraded to highly energy-efficient LEDs (“light-emitting diodes”) by the city during the summer. But the additional good news is that the holiday lights decorating the business districts in West Roxbury this year are also LEDs, thanks to the persistence of State Rep. Ed Coppinger in negotiating the contract for purchasing the new illuminations. LEDs—which also are safer because they do not emit heat and contain no mercury—generally cost more initially but quickly pay for themselves many times over because they use so little energy. In addition, well-designed LEDs last significantly longer than regular bulbs. Coppinger reports that each of the 41 decorative snowflakes purchased with the money from this fall’s fundraiser contains 66 LED lamps that will use 70% to 80% less energy than regular bulbs. These new decorations should sparkle on our town’s streets for least a decade, and will probably last longer.

Second Zipcar location arrives in West Roxbury. The new location in the Lord’s and Lady’s Hair Salon parking lot adds convenience for many in West Roxbury (although we are happy to have had the Zipcars at Harvard Vanguard for a number of years now). WRSE hopes that the one Zipcar allotment at L&L’s (a Mini Cooper) will quickly increase in number. Why is car sharing good for the environment? According to Zipcar, each of their vehicles replaces approximately 15 privately owned cars, which reduces not only your costs as a car owner but overall emissions, pollution, and traffic congestion. As for the cost benefits, by paying an annual fee for car sharing instead of owning a car, you would save about $8,400 each year, as estimated by AAA (the savings includes car maintenance and payments).

Roxbury Latin School goes solar. This fall solar panels were installed on the roof of the field house at RL, a great effort to save energy and save money. According to Patch, “the system is comprised of approximately 565 American-made panels,” and projected energy savings for the school “in the first year are estimated at more than $5,000,” with savings in the next 15 years hitting around the $100,000 mark. WRSE is always happy to see new solar panels in our town. RL’s complement the ones installed several years ago at Waves Car Wash, and we hope to be bringing you more news of solar energy savings in coming months as additional businesses and homeowners realize the benefits of going solar.

Water bubblers or water-filling stations in WR to help decrease bottled water sales? This is a great idea. Thanks to City Councilor Matt O’Malley for pointing out that if we had more public places to get water and refill our reusable water bottles, perhaps we wouldn’t be so apt to keep buying bottled water at the rate we do. Boston has excellent tap water — some of the safest in the country and certainly among the best tasting — so we should do everything we can to cut down on the purchase of water in plastic, an environmental disaster and certainly an expense we could eliminate. Fewer than 20% of plastic bottles get recycled, and of course it seems silly to spend money on drinking water that is available in our homes for pennies. Consequently, making water a readily available option in our public parks and on-street locations would be a win-win.

New green energy source for West Roxbury. Mass Energy Consumers Alliance has just announced a program beginning in 2013 that offers local, renewable energy to NSTAR’s customers. Payments for participation in Mass Energy’s green-energy program are 100 percent tax deductible. Watch for WRSE to present a program soon offering more details on this excellent new electricity-supply option for our town.

Finally, don’t miss our program on January 14 to bring you information about the latest technology for heating and cooling your home that will save you money and energy. These systems, referred to as Total Climate Control (TCC), even let you vary the temperature from room to room. They can save you up to 60 percent on your energy bill. Click here for details about this free January program.