Cleaning up the streets of Boston is like the weather. Everyone talks about it, but no one can do anything about it.

Everyone I’ve heard on the subject agrees that Boston is one of the dirtiest cities in America. Since it seems futile to explain why our conditions are so foul, it might be more effective to determine what has worked in our downtown communities that can be replicated. I talked with clean street leaders in the North End, Charlestown, Beacon Hill and the Back Bay as well as Joanne Massaro, Boston Public Works Commissioner, and her special assistant, Frank O’Brien. These Bostonians had several comments about the situation.

Advertisements and signs. Naomi Paul of the North End remembers when she was a child there was a national push to stop people from littering along the roads. She thinks it raised people’s awareness about the consequences of tossing something out the window. She believes signs letting people know the fines for not picking up after your dog or for littering would help reduce the mess.

Massaro likes spelling out the penalties for bad behavior, but some people object to adding to a street’s visual clutter.

Challenges. Paul said when she saw a pedestrian eating sunflower seeds and spitting out the chaff, she accosted him. He wasn’t happy, but she thinks that knowing he might face a challenge in the future, he would think twice about doing it again.

The green ticket. Clean streets people have high hopes long-term for building owners improving the way they or their tenants put out trash when they see fines on their tax bills. Rajan Nanda of Beacon Hill said his committee has learned that when ISD first began giving tickets they were writing 80 to 90 tickets a night in his neighborhood. It’s down to about 30 now.

Massaro said assigning officers to “hot spot” areas between midnight and 8 a.m. has helped too.

More code enforcement. The trash police have the green ticket tool. They can’t let up from using it. They also need to pay attention to restaurants which sometimes have trash piled up around their buildings for too long if their hauler isn’t timely.

Increase the fines. Focus on dog owners who don’t pick up and trash scofflaws.

See it, report it. When you see a violation, email your neighborhood association, its clean streets leaders, and call the mayor’s hotline. Repeating violators can be targeted for extra oversight and a personal discussion.

Education. Education. Through newspapers, posters, real estate rental brokers, signs, neighborhood groups, pet clinics, neighbors, the message should be clear, say neighborhood trash czars. Bag your trash appropriately. Pick up after your dog. Do not throw your cigarette butts or chewing gum onto the sidewalk. Clean up around your building.

Keep towing on street cleaning day. Every one I spoke to said this was the most important measure taken toward keeping the streets clean that they had seen in Boston in their lifetimes.

Extend street cleaning and towing to 12 months of the year.

It doesn’t snow all the time.  “We are piloting that in the North End,” said Frank O’Brien. Meetings explaining the program will start soon.

Reduce the number of hours trash bags are legally on the street. One method is to require that trash bags be put on the street only after midnight on the day of pickup. That’s what the Back Bay asks people to do, said Cathy Youngman, who leads the neighborhood association’s city services committee. Another method is to reduce the number of trash pickups and increase the number of recycle pickups in the North End and on Beacon Hill. These neighborhoods can have trash on the sidewalk legally up to 60 hours a week.

This causes angst in some quarters. Some people resist change, period. Others don’t want to let go of a city service. And city officials have little heart for change since they get the complaints. The chance for re-jigging pickups will come in 2014 when the next trash hauling contract is negotiated. An added benefit of fewer trash pickups and more recycle pickups is the city’s reduced cost.

Joanne Massaro said her office can consider such moves, but it is difficult and costly to the city to change routes and schedules after the contractors have bid on them. She would consider a pilot program somewhere.

More trash barrels. While there are more barrels on the commercial streets, few exist on residential streets. More barrels, perhaps in small ones attached to lampposts in front of buildings where the owners have agreed to empty them, would give dog owners a place to stash their pet’s leavings and would give pedestrians a place to toss their coffee cups and used tissues.

“Adopt a barrel” programs have worked irregularly with businesses, and residents have rarely participated. Again, city officials said they are game for another try.

Neighborhood clean-up days. The Back Bay is known for its Alley Rallies, and other neighborhoods also conduct clean-up days.

Privately funded cleanup. Boylston Street, Downtown Crossing, the Fenway and Kenmore Square enjoy the regular services of private cleaning companies. Charles Street will soon get this service in a pilot program with Project Place funded by the Beacon Hill Business Association and the Beacon Hill Civic Association. The long block of Beacon Hill’s Pinckney Street has long had a private cleaner paid for by some of the residents.

Private cleanup. Do it yourself. You are responsible for the conditions in front of your business or residence. Sweep the sidewalk. Pick up litter. Seal your trash in the appropriate bag and put it out just before 7 a.m. on trash day. Don’t be a slob.

The clean streets people I spoke with were adamant. We have to apply all these measures. Otherwise, as Naomi Paul puts it, “Boston is disgusting.”