On December 2, Quincy legislators voted in favor of Mayor Koch and Councillor Brian Palmucci’s ban on single-use plastic bags. The city of Quincy follows the town of Milton, and the cities of Boston, Revere and 122 other cities and towns in the state. Local supermarket Stop and Shop has displayed signs informing customers of the plastic bag ban to take effect on March 1.
The city council 8-0 vote would make single-use plastic bags unavailable or possibly charged, as is common in Boston. Quincy Climate Action Network was present at the council meeting, speaking in favor of the plastic bag ban back in an October hearing. Some residents who were in attendance suggested that the city charge a similar cost that the city of Boston does for their bags. Quincy will make the shift from single-use plastic bags to paper bags as of March 1. Palmucci explained to residents that it will take time to implement a cost of paper bags and says the first step is eliminating plastic bags first.
The Quincy Sun reported, “The ordinance bans all retail-checkout bags made from plastic, including bags made from petroleum or natural gas and those made from biological sources such as corn or other plants. Degradable and biodegradable plastic bags are among those that are prohibited.” The ordinance goes on to state “violators of the ban would first receive a written warning, which would include a 14-day period to correct violation. A $50 fine would be charged for the second violation, followed by a $100 fine for subsequent violations.”
Bonnie Yee, a sophomore who has lived in Quincy her whole life stated, “I am personally in favor of the ban. I always want to try my best to cut back on my plastic use and strive to be more sustainable, however, I know many others, even within my family, don’t feel the same or are just indifferent. I hope the ban is one of many steps forward to becoming more sustainable.” Yee had also pointed out that there was a convenience to plastic bags to the citizens of Quincy who may reuse the plastic bags after receiving them from the grocery store. When asked what she thought it would do for the city environmentally she stated, “Hmm … Good question. I suppose it could make a dent to lessen the city’s use of plastic bags, but then again people still can buy plastic bags for things like trash or storage, etc., so I’m not exactly sure it if could actually make a difference unless it’s a large, more universal crackdown on single use plastics.” Yee went on to explain how boba and tea shops in Quincy have become increasingly popular over the past couple of years and she has seen numerous empty boba cups and empty cups from coffee shops, just as much as plastic bags are seen and that the city should take a look at those single use plastics as well when the ban on plastic bags goes into full effect.
Quincy follows towns such as neighboring town Milton, who implemented a plastic bag ban back in July of 2019, and neighboring town Hingham, who implemented their plastic bag ban back in November of 2019. The state of Massachusetts now has 122 municipalities that enacted plastic bag bans, full and partial, out of the 351 in the state. Eight states have enacted plastic bag bans or fees, including California, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, and Oregon. Massachusetts legislatures have not passed a bill that would place a fee on single-use plastic bags but the debate has been raised in the legislature.
https://thequincysun.com/quincy-to-ban-plastic-bags-march-1/ http://www.massgreen.org/plastic-bag-legislation.html