Article 27 - Acceptance of Proposed new by-Law Regarding Plastic Shopping Bag Reduction

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Town of Canton
2/25/19 Finance Committee Meeting

Plastic Bag Reduction By-Law

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FUTURE

[Original embedded text, retained for comparison]
Town of Canton
2/25/19 Finance Committee Meeting
   Plastic Bag Reduction By-Law

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Article 27: Eliminates Thin-Film Plastic Bags at Retail
Establishments in Canton 6 Months After Passage
Plastic Check-Out Bags                       Reusable Shopping Bags
●   Create litter and harm animals           ●   Inexpensive; as little as $1
●   Made of nonrenewable fossil fuels        ●   Used repeatedly
●   In landfills, release CO2 which          ●   Safe to animals
    promotes the leaking of other gases      ●   Organic or recycled fibers
    including methane
●   Clog storm drains and lead to flooding
●   Jam recycling machinery
●   Enter waterways and impact seafood

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MA Cities & Towns With Bag Reduction By-Laws
As of January 2019, 91 Massachusetts cities and towns, representing over 40%
of the state’s population, regulate single-use plastic shopping bags (Sierra Club of MA):

Adams, Amherst, Andover, Aquinnah, Arlington, Ashland, Athol, Attleboro, Barnstable, Bedford,
Belmont, Beverly, Boston, Bourne, Bridgewater, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge, Chatham,
Chilmark, Cohasset, Concord, Dalton, Danvers, Dartmouth, Dennis, Duxbury, Edgartown, Falmouth,
Framingham, Gloucester, Grafton, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Hamilton, Harwich, Haverhill,
Hopkinton, Ipswich, Lee, Lenox, Lexington, Lincoln, Longmeadow, Lowell, Manchester-by-the-Sea,
Mansfield, Marblehead, Marshfield, Mashpee, Melrose, Milton, Nantucket, Natick, Newburyport,
Newton, Northampton, Oak Bluffs, Pembroke, Plymouth, Provincetown, Reading, Rockport, Salem,
Sandwich, Scituate, Shrewsbury, Somerville, South Hadley, Stockbridge, Sudbury, Swampscott,
Tewksbury, Tisbury, Topsfield, Truro, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley,
Wellfleet, West Tisbury, Westborough, Westford, Weston, Williamstown, Wilmington, Winchester,
Yarmouth.

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Bags Not Affected By Article 27

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Recycling is Not a Solution
●   Low rates of voluntary recycling and only
    5-10 % of bags are properly recycled
●   Costs more to recycle a plastic bag than
    make a new one
●   Not appropriate for municipal curbside
    recycling
●   Jam and damage the mechanisms of
    recycling machinery
●   Cheaper to make new bags than to
    recycle used ones

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Impact on Canton’s Recycling Services & Costs
“Our recycling process is comprised of a series of rods with spinning discs which move the material along. Flexible plastics of
all kinds are thin and stretchy, and get wrapped around these spinning discs. Our facilities run 24/7, except for the time that
is lost each day shutting down the entire line when we are required to manually cut and remove the tangled items from our
screens. This process is exceptionally dangerous, and decreases the efficiency of the recycling process….

When customers put their recycling in plastic bags, we are unable to see the contents and are unwilling to risk the safety of
our employees by ripping into a bag we can’t see through. Ultimately, bagged materials must be diverted as trash. Plastic
bags and other flexible plastics are a contaminant in the recycling stream, and therefore have the potential to fail large
loads of recycling based on the volume of these materials. Failed loads incur a price penalty based on the level of
contamination. In many cases, the municipality will be charged contamination fees reflecting the level of non-recyclables,
which includes bags and other flexible plastics….

After the challenge of China’s National Sword — which bans 24 types of solid waste, including various plastics and unsorted
mixed papers, and sets a much tougher standard for contamination levels — reducing contamination rates in recycling has
been of the utmost importance. Incorrect items, such as plastic bags, have negative consequences for everyone involved.”
---Gretchen Carey, Recycling and Organics Coordinator, Republic Services

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Microplastics and Human Health
●   Plastic bags need 500 to 1000 years to break
    down and they never fully biodegrade
●   Tiny pieces (microplastics) enter waterways and
    flow into the ocean
●   Absorb and concentrate pollutants present in the
    water
●   Pollutants bioaccumulate in small marine life
    when they mistake microplastics for food, and
    move up the aquatic food chain
●   Extent of possible harm to human health is being
    researched by EPA

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Low Cost - Huge Environmental Payoff
                   Reusable Bags:
     ●     Cost as little as a dollar
     ●     Save retailers money
     ●     Are promotional material
     ●     FREE at bag drives
     ●     No impact to local economy*
     ●     Do not create litter
     ●     Do not pollute waterways
     ●     Do not end up in landfills
     ●     Do not impact municipal recycling

    *Economic Impact Analysis: Proposed Ban on Plastic Carryout Bags in Los
    Angeles County (AECOM, 2010)

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Implementation Considerations
Town of Mansfield, with a comparable population & land area, has not
needed to hire additional staff to manage their Bag Reduction By-law

●   Notification
     ○   Canton Residents Toward an Equitable, Sustainable Future will prepare
         fact sheets & deliver notification to retail establishments
     ○   Newspaper articles (business and consumer education)
     ○   Educational presentation to the public
     ○   Town Website, Signage and Social Media
●   Implementation
     ○   Effective date six months from Town Meeting (Nov 2019) for large
         establishments; up to 12 months for small merchants
●   Enforcement
     ○   BOH to respond to violation complaints submitted via phone or email,
         issuing warning, subsequent fines

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short-native-text

YES   ARTICLE 27