St. Petersburg has been employing strategies in all areas for a sustainable future for generations. These were summarized this year in a multi-hundred page document to apply for Green City Designation by the Florida Green Building Coalition. The document outlines strides St. Petersburg has made in the area of energy, water, air, land and waste. Among the highlights:

·        Use of biodiesel fuel and hybrid vehicles in the city fleet.

·        Successful recycling programs including an effective yard waste–to–mulch
         program (mulch given away free to residents). Each year, the city collects 47,472
         tons of recyclable material – second highest per capita recycling rate in the county
         (485 pounds per person).

·        St. Petersburg water customers are among the great water conservationists in the
         region – using significantly less water than they did 20 years ago despite a
         greater population. One reason – St. Petersburg developed the nation’s reclaimed
         water systems which remains one of the largest such systems in the world, serving
         the irrigation needs of more than 10,000 residential and business customers with
         37 millions gallons per day, including 316 fire hydrants. The city also has a
         very tenacious conservation program that combines education for water users of
         all ages with water restrictions when necessary and enforcement.

·        Preservation of land and open spaces. St. Petersburg maintains seven miles of
         preserved downtown waterfront, along with an additional 125 city parks and
         preserves spanning more than 2,500 acres. The city’s Boyd Hill Preserve on
         the expansive Lake Maggiore offers miles of hiking trails through a pristine
         Florida wilderness environment, yet is located in the heart of the urban
         environment. Habitat restoration and acquisition of environmentally sensitive
         lands are both components of the city’s environmental policies.

·        Maintaining the city’s 260 miles of shoreline is a huge job, bolstered by a methodical
         renovation of the city’s storm drain system to reduce run-off into surface waters and
         one of the state’s largest lake clean-up efforts at Lake Maggiore. Recent efforts to
         maintain and improve city beaches have been extremely successful and have garnered
         the city the Blue Wave Beaches Award from the National Clean Beaches Council for
         its maintenance of St. Petersburg Beach on Treasure Island. In addition, a local
         non-profit, grass roots clean-up organization, called the Green Armada, has recently
         received national press on NBC and CBS nightly national news, People magazine and
         more.

·        The city has made a careful effort to enhance the aesthetics and protect the beauty
         of its downtown waterfront, neighborhood streets and its many parks by planting
         thousands of trees and plants. Included in this effort is the beautification of the
         interstate highway system and the Mayor Rick Baker’s flowering tree planting
         program, which adds color and reduces soil erosion throughout the city. Recent
         efforts to maintain and improve city beaches have been extremely successful and
         have garnered the city the Blue Wave Beaches Award from the National Clean 
         Beaches Council for its maintenance of St. Petersburg Beach on Treasure Island.