Alderman Alison Leary, Marcia Cooper of Green Newton and Alderman Emily Norton, pictured here with State Rep. Ruth Balser (3rd from left) were recently honored at State House as “Heroes of the Ocean” for Newton’s municipal ban on single-use plastic bags. The event was sponsored by Mass Sierra Club, where Norton is a director.
It’s been five months this week since Newton’s ban (sponsored by Leary and Norton) began. How do you think it’s working out?
I give myself a B+ when it comes to remembering to bring a reusable shopping bag to a grocery store but a D when it comes to going to other stores. As a result, we now have a pretty good collection of paper bags in the cabinet that used to be stuffed with plastic bags.
Truthfully, it’s been a pain in the ass. The uniformity of paper bags just doesn’t work well for a lot of heavier items, especially in inclement weather. I’ve experienced several torn bags and dropped items since this change was passed. I think it was a completely inappropriate for our local government to ban plastic bags and other consumer products.
Frankly, what bothers me far worse than the plastic bag ban, is the fact that no one in city government is looking out for the interests of consumers in Newton. We have retail businesses operating as clubs, offering different pricing to different people based on membership. Also, according to state law, a customer’s view of the cash register window is supposed to be unimpeded. Many Newton businesses violate this basic consumer protection, with no fear of enforcement. I think it’s time for Newton’s elected officials to start putting Newton consumers first, ahead of their own pet projects.
We have a three bin stacking thing in the kitchen. One is for deposit cans. One is for deposit bottles. The top, we use for general recycling — with paper bags open for filling and “as you go out the door” transport to recycling pick-up. It is a much better system than filling up a kitchen bin and having to take it out to the larger Newton recycling bin for eventual weekly pick-up.. It’s much less of a chore to take a (usually handled) paper bag out for recycling than to dump and return a bigger bin. When we have an excess of these useful paper bags, I try to make more of a point of bringing the reusable bags when I shop, but it doesn’t always happen.. I actually have gotten much, much lazier about bringing my reusable bags since I can be assured of paper in my Newton universe of shopping. So, if my diligence is a reflection, probably not good.This time of year, though, I tend to super-collect paper grocery bags because my husband makes potato latkes for Hanukkah in a traditional 1930’s fashion. Seems that before paper towels were invented, his grandmother used brown paper grocery bags to absorb the grease. So do we every Hanukkah. When the holiday is over, I start noticing that I have way too many paper bags!
So in general, I must say that I have been far less diligent about bringing my own reusable bags since I can be assured of paper vs. plastic.We have no shortage of plastic bags because of shopping in bordering communities, though I still recycle them in Newton, mostly at Whole Foods, They do a great public service recycling plastic bags even though they have not used them for many years.
I wish that I could just throw plastic bags in Newton recycling but that is apparently not possible. In the meantime, I must say that if you do not have a dog and use plastic bags for poop scooping, then you are far better off because of this change.
It’s a better day when even a few less plastic materials get into our waterways where they are so deadly to fish and other wildlife. I’ve been taking reusable bags to the grocery store and am still using 2 that I purchased in Ireland which was the first country to ban both paper and plastic shopping bags. Ireland was also the first nation to fully ban smoking in pubs, restaurants and other public places and to end late night drinking in these same facilities. And of course, Ireland was also the first nation to overwhelmingly pass a ballot question legalizing gay marriage. I also did a little statistical analysis when I worked at the Irish Institute which showed that per capita solid waste generation in the Republic is less than half of the per capita amount produced in Massachusetts.
Boo Hoo. The idea is that you use reusable bags, not paper. It’s best if we don’t use either. A little more effort is all you need. How about trying?
I am surprised that all 24 aldermen voted for the ban. There is a real holier-than-thou element to this. That aside, this law is arbitrary, exempting some, but not others. It puts Newton businesses at a disadvantage to competitors in non-nanny-towns. Do we want a new business who considers Newton to have hire a lawyer to figure out the special regulations to which it is subjected?
It is unclear to me whether the ban is really good for the environment. Some citizens recycle plastic bags for other purposes. Some heavy items require multiple paper bags, killing trees. We can go on and on.
@Jeffrey: The vote was 22-0 (I forget who was absent) but valid points
@Kim: Dude! Welcome back. Village 14 has missed you.
BTW: Am I the only one who thinks its curious that Sierra Club Chapter Director Emily Norton presented an award to Alderman Emily Norton?
Don’t know because I don’t understand your question. What award?
@Gail: I’m referring to the Sierra Club’s “Heroes of the Ocean Award” mentioned (and in the photo) at the beginning of this thread.
It seems odd that Norton would be both the presenter and a winner.
Hasn’t really affected my life at all. I forget my reusable bags with the same frequency and run to the car to get them right before checking out with the same frequency. And I forget to put them back in the trunk with the same frequency. I typically don’t even remember that it’s in effect.
I do have a dwindling collection of plastic bags though, which makes me very happy.
@ Jeffrey and Greg,
Given the results of the recent election where 23 of the 24 incumbents were returned to office, that club rarely comes into disagreement. Group speech and thinking is the rule from the committees to the full board. And naturally leadership comes down from on high ,.. The mayors office. Like sheep they follow ? When’s the last time a housing proposal has been rejected? When will we hear that the mayors housing location and visions are based on false assumptions ,.. Like maybe we need 3200 more units ? When will we see a city tree replacement program that is more than a feel good sop? When will will issues of density, village character, demolition of affordable housing , excess development, etc etc , be addressed as problems , that warrant more than a wink and nod, before business proceeds with the requisite conviviality ?
@Blue: The problem with your comment is that it assumes that most Newton residents share your NVA-like no-growth-anywhere mantra whereas the last election results clearly told us that most folks disagree with you and the NVA.
As for your question “When was the last time a housing proposal has been rejected?” I may have missed one since, but that would otherwise be November of 2014.
@Blueprint. We all would benefit if there was more open disagreement among the aldermen. Besides being more exciting, it enables all of us to learn more about the pluses and minus of each side. I can’t understand why there is not more disagreement. Maybe some people take it personally. Maybe some people think it is rude. I think is it a missed opportunity.
@Greg: Sorry, I missed your links up top. But I still don’t get the Emily Norton reference. Where does it say she got an award? Wasn’t she giving the award on the behalf of the Sierra Club?
I’m pleased to have one less source of litter in our neighborhood and thank the BOA for improving the cleanliness of our streets and sidewalks.
@Greg: Technically, the Board voted to deny the request to lift the Deed Restriction and did not vote specifically on the housing proposal/project. That was a 40B proposal and 40B proposals go to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
@Greg–when in doubt trust Gail. Mass. Sierra Club and Women Working for Oceans gave an award to Alderwoman Alison Leary and a couple dozen other activists across the state who have gone above and beyond to reduce plastics pollution in our environment. I did not receive any award. (That is, aside from the award of warm fuzzies from giving other people awards.)
@Alderman Norton: Thanks for the response. But I must say that seems like splitting hairs. You were sponsor of the bag ban with Alderman Leary. So perhaps the Sierra Club award “technically” didn’t have your name on it. But it was still your Sierra Club awarding your legislation, no?
Oh and there’s this.
@Greg: Alderman Leary, Norton and Hess-Mahan may have been the most vocal on the plastic bag banitem, I believe the actual docket item was sponsored by the entire Programs and Services Committee: #254-12(2) THE PROGRAMS & SERVICES COMMITTEE recommending an ordinance to
ban single-use plastic bags at certain retail establishments in the City of Newton.
[01/10/14 @ 3:36 PM]
@Alderman Sangiolo: Thanks for the clarification, I was just going by the Globe article.
@Greg: I was the one handing out the awards, so believe me I know who got them… I would totally remember if I had called my own name out. If you doubt me, you can contact the offices of our State Reps and State Senator as they are the ones who produced the hard copy citations with Alison Leary’s name on it. (Not my name. Alison’s name. Are we clear?)
For the record, Ald. Leary did 95% of the work involved in getting the plastic bag ban passed. I pulled together some visuals of choking marine animals for the power point, as well as the Katy Perry song for the background music, but the hours spent reviewing other town ordinances, visiting stores, getting feedback, refining the ordinance in response to the feedback, working with the Economic Development Committee, the Mayor’s Office, the NN Chamber… that was all her.
Got it. Thanks.
Um, Emily, there were many cooks working on this item over the past five years. I docketed the original item, consulted elected and appointed officials in other communities that had adopted bans, and drafted the language for the plastic bag ordinance, and Ald. Danberg and myself and other aldermen worked with the EDC and the Chamber for several years on both plastic bags and polystyrene before either you or Ald. Leary were on the BOA. I am probably leaving out some others, like Greg Reibman, whose contributions were also crucial in his role as director of the Chamber of Commerce and members of the EDC who worked with us on crafting the ordinance so as not to create hardships for smaller businesses. That is not to diminish Ald. Leary’s efforts, which also included meeting with the administration and going around to various businesses that would be affected with Nancy Hyde, the city’s economic development planner. But there are a lot of other people who also deserve credit (or blame depending on one’s perspective).
Very soon every town and state will have this ban, and Newton will be remembered as a trailblazer. I applaud our elected officials for such a courageous move. The same “nanny” arguments were made about smoking bans 20 years ago.
Regardless of one’s perspective on the utility of this ordinance, Aldermen Leary and Norton remind us that effective leadership produces results.
And, of course, I forgot to mention Marcia Cooper and Green Newton (f/k/a Green Decade). Ald. Sangiolo also correctly points out that the Programs and Services Committee was a primary shaker and mover. The committee reviewed and invited public comment on a number of different options to curb the proliferation of single-use plastic bags, including fees and other measures, before the committee finally recommended a ban which was passed virtually without dissent by the full board.
@Newtoner, I hope you are correct, although the effort to pass a statewide law in Massachusetts has stalled repeatedly. But Newton was hardly a leader. In addition to other communities in Massachusetts and elsewhere, since 2002, a significant number of countries all over the world have adopted measures to reduce or eliminate single-use plastic bags.
It really hasn’t had any effect on my life at all. I still shop at the same places as I did before. I keep enough reusable bags, with their great handles, in my trunk that I have one even when I forget to put them back for a couple of trips. If I forget to take one in to the store, occasionally I use the paper bags, but their handles come off so easily I would rather not depend on them.
I miss them when I’m buying beef and poultry and wish they were packed differently. The little ones for veggies are too small and still let the juices mingle. Now I take small wastebasket plastic bags inside my reuseable bags to put them in so I’m still using plastic bags for meat.
This award discussion seems really silly to me. Does everyone who worked on a project need an award to feel like they did a good job? Do you want Alderman Leary to feel bad that Ted and all the others didn’t get awards too? You all sound like three year olds. And like the parents who are teaching their kids that they deserve awards and recognition for any part they played, any team they were on and anything at all they do. We’re seeing how well that is working out now!
Question: New policies normally have goals and a measurable impact (not to mention unintended consequences). As consumers obviously do not have a choice whether to comply with this change, their response is more of a mechanism, rather than a measurable outcome. So, what metrics are being used to determine policy success (or failure)? Is there less pollution? Are there more paper bags being recycled? Is there a cost to that? Impact on retailers? Etc.
I have only begun to notice the lack of plastic- partly because a good portion of our shopping is at Stop & Shop in Watertown, near where we live. The other reason is most other shopping is at Whole Foods, Marty’s and Craft Beer Cellar, where a combination of our recycling/using permanent bags, WF’s reliance on paper to begin with, and use of boxes to transport beer and wine purchases has meant, again, that I have not noticed much difference shopping.
That’s a long-winded way of saying I probably wasn’t going to notice a difference anyway, though I still prefer not to have the plastic and wouldn’t miss them if they went away altogether.
Be interesting to see measures on impact, including litter and retail impact.
Pretty well. We’ve been using reusable bags for years, so no real change.
I do miss the plastic bags, as we used them in our house for lots of things (lining the bedroom trash cans, sending little kid shoes to daycare when it rains, etc). The one issue I have is when purchasing chicken or meat. I refuse to put my raw chicken parts or raw beef into my canvas shopping bags. The transfer of the beef or chicken juice really puts me over the edge. . . . . and even though they are in brown paper bags, the bags don’t do a good enough job. I would love an option of having a plastic bag for those items, and since I buy a family pack, I can’t shove them into a produce bag.
I do go to Market Basket every other week for shopping, so I can get my bedroom trash can liners in Waltham, MA, and I can purchase meat and chicken there.
The paper bag handles are flimsy and consistently break, so it is a pain to bring in bundles. But I did discover a use for the paper bags: They are a convenient container to collect recyclables in, in the back hallway leading outside to the barrels. This is an improvement from having to collect recyclables under the sink, where there isn’t much room and items often get wet.
Never like the idea of any ban, but the impact has been a wash for me.
On the vote count. I was absent the evening of the vote due to our son’s medical emergency (he’s OK), and had I been present would have voted NO on the ban.
My reason is simple; that though there is great merit in saying we do certain things, mandating policy to look good is not something I am interested in supporting. Clearly those that shop at large grocery stores in neighboring cities use/not use plastic based upon personal choice.
I believe that given Newton’s standing as one of the most educated cities in the USA http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/11/18/nerdwallets-ranking-of-the-most-educated-places-in-the-u-s/ , that residents and market forces should direct merchant policies.
Eh…I miss the plastic bags. And I second the thoughts on the meat/chicken issue. I understand the environmental concerns, haven’t changed my shopping preferences, but every time a paper bag breaks I silently curse the ban, and wish I had remembered to bring my reusable bags with me…
I agree with the last comments from fig and Jim.
Wonderful points Mr. Brandel. It is a shame you no linger represent me.
As for the ban, it only means I have to shop in other towns to get my plastic bags.
@Elmo, one exception to the ban is small retailers in Newton. I can keep myself in conveniently sized bags shopping at really locally based Newton businesses.