From Small to Large, Sustainable Cities

The City of Ceder Hill decided to make some strong changes at the beginning of this year that including reducing waste picke-up from three times a week to one time and providing a larger recycling receptacle for residents. Stephen Mason, Cedar Hill councilmember says he is not afraid of change and to his understanding, neither are his constituents. It seems like there are usually concerns as it relates to changing community waste management. Especially when the recycling programs have changed from 3 times a week to one day a week.  

This change was implemented on The City of Cedar Hill’s solid waste services the week of Jan. 8, 2012.

The rule amendments are below:

·         Every single-family home has received a 96-gallon Recycle cart.  These carts will not be picked up if they contain anything other than recyclables.

·         Residents may elect to lease a 96-gallon trash cart for $2 per month per cart. 

·         Every home will have one weekly pickup day for trash, recycling and one bulky item

·         Green waste and brush pickup will continue with existing monthly pickup schedule

Mason said that these new implements could have been politically sensitive,  but was approved unanimously by the entire council. This change was not only good for the environment Mason said but it was also good for the taxpayer’s wallets while teaching them about recycling.

The bins for the recycling are at no additional cost for the taxpayer. Education about the new rules is distributed by way of water bills and is listed on the website. When asked about exploring other green options, Mason was emphatic. At 30, he is the youngest  sitting City of Cedar Hill Councilmember and therefore, he felt it important to express the concern of his generation.

"We  as a generation are concerned about the environment that is why I am such a proponent of different initiatives that will enhance our communities and reduce cost," said Mason.

Mason was proud to mention that the City of Cedar Hill, a city of about 50,000, will soon received a wind turbine and will not have to rely so heavily on the energy grid. The City of Cedar Hill received a grant support the implementation and construction of electric fuel stations. As of now, the city has not converted over their fleet but it something the Council are looking forward to seeing in the future.

 

The City of Bedford officials are also taking big strides to making their city more sustainable. After an embarrassing blunder of closing down their library, the city bounced back by remodeling another bungle, a former Food Lion, into a beautiful, sustainable structure complete with energy efficiency.  


Councilmember Chris Brown is one of the youngest member’s on the City Council. He reiterated how he believed in the sustainable initiative that Maria was implementing and backed her on those changes. They wanted to save taxpayer money and truly believed in the effects of environmental change.  The Bedford library received a gerant for renewable energy and as part of that grant, the library has to provide tours. I would highly suggest that all city officials take a look at what Bedford put into place and try to find a place for it within their municipality.

Because of the changes at the library the community became more interested.



Teen Center at the City of Bedford Library
Photo by Chris Graves



The 17,000 square foot building holds thousands of books, computers and resources to support the Bedford community. With a $200,000 budget and 75% of the budget being for books, there was concern to get the most bang for their buck - and they did.

The library officials used grants to fund their renewable energy initiatives with the hope that the payoff would be substantial down the line.


Solar Power
Photo by Chris Graves



·         Solar energy

o    Reduced need to depend on the grid

o    Initially wanted to go geo thermal but the cost was too great

·         Wind Turbines

o    Council did not like its look

Implementing energy efficient technologies that reduced the need for extra resources, the library was able to cut back on that. 

Book sorter - no hands required
Photo by Chris Graves

When it comes to being LEED certified, this seemingly sustainable library did not need it. It was surprising to hear that they were not awarded that plaque but the application amount was not worth the sticker price- besides, they’d rather purchase books. 

 

(Left to right )City of Bedford  Mayor Pro Tem Ray Chapney and Councilman Chris Brown
Photo by Chris Graves

Fort Worth folks, can also look into ways to further their recycling education. They can access the City of Fort Worth's website for further information at : http://fortworthtexas.gov/solidwaste/.  This site can be very educational or call 817.394.1234 for more detailed information. According to Dennis Mitchell, Code Compliance officer of the Special projects division, the city sets a monumental example by not only sending out literature through the Water Dept flyer much like the City of Cedar Hill, but the city takes a "hands on" approach by allowing individual from different departments such as code compliance and Community Relations to share at neighborhood association meetings and various forums throughout the city.

“As result of my position in Code Compliance, I have been able to help others to lessen the negative impact on their households by cutting their cost by utilizing Housing and Economic Development programs (emergency repair of heating/plumbing appurtenances, weatherization of windows/doors and painting of area housing during Cowtown Brushup). Secondly, providing information and outside resources to citizens to save them money on their water bills and other utilities as a cost savings to the City of Fort Worth and to the citizen.   Socially, we reach out to the communities through the neighborhoods to meet with their organizations continually to share ways to keep their homes and communities in a safe and cost effective state of repair, limiting the need to have residences in their areas which bring blight on the communities. Environmentally, the ongoing information blitz to keep recycling, water conservation and preservation at the forefront of everyone's mind is paramount.  If we continue to impresses upon the community just how these resources can best be utilized, we can ensure the availability of these resources for years to come.”

As far as the city as a whole, Dennis said there is quite a lot of work to do.

"Not everyone has gotten the message just how much of a negative impact the lack of education in this area (sustainability) will affect the generations to come.  That is why it is increasingly important that we start with the kids in schools and at home to get them in the habit now of conserving, recycling and "thinking green".

Some things I didn’t know were that programs such as the use solar power during the past Superbowl, led to the continued use in the downtown area.

Dennis said there are other out of the box methods that he would like to see such as more rainwater conservation measures. He says if implemented it may help to deter the need for water rationing during low precipitation periods.

"We hear so much information about the sustainability impact of our precious resources. However, we need to become more involved in making the effort to keep the education, technology and implementation at the forefront of ensuring they are used wisely for future generations."

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