Ban Single-Use Plastics, Nips
After examining the hazards that single-use plastics and polystyrene present to our coastal environment, human health, and surveying business owners in town for their opinions, the Fairhaven Board of Health and the Fairhaven Sustainasbility Committee have co-sponsored Article 21, a bylaw to reduce the distribution of these materials.
The bylaw is simple: plastic straws, drink stirrers, utensils, and splash sticks will only be distributed upon customer request in food establishments. This will greatly reduce their use and provide a cost-savings to the businesses. Styrofoam food packaging, disposable plastic bags, and the sale of Styrofoam coolers will be prohibited. Styrofoam (polystyrene) is not only a pollutant, but it leaches the toxic chemicals benzene and styrene into food and drinks, which is then consumed, and accumulates in the human body leading to some major health problems. Single-use Styrofoam coolers and plastic bags are among the most commonly found items on our local beach clean-ups and are dangerous to marine life.
The Sustainability Committee will also present Article 22, to prohibit the sale of plastic “nip” bottles in Fairhaven. Several of our neighboring towns on the Southcoast as well as Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard have already enacted such bylaws (or are in process of doing so). These tiny, non-recyclable bottles are typically tossed, not only presenting the safety hazard of drinking and driving, but clogging our drains, causing flooding, and are found by the hundreds on our beaches.
Town Meeting Members are urged to vote YES on Articles 21 and 22, for health, the planet, and the future of Fairhaven!
Town of Fairhaven Sustainability Committee
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