At 11:00 pm last night, after a presentation by Green Needham’s Plastic Waste Reduction team co-chairs Rob Fernandez and Kathy Raiz and a brief debate, the Plastic Bag Ban was overwhelmingly approved by Needham Town Meeting, with only one dissenting vote.
The newly-adopted by-law prohibits the use of all single-use plastic checkout bags. It does not apply to the bags used for produce, plastic bags covering dry cleaning or laundry, or bags used to protect delivered newspapers from the weather. The ban takes effect on January 1st, 2024 for larger establishments (over 3,500 square feet), and six months later on July 1st, 2024 for all retail establishments.
This is a big step forward for protecting our environment and our health. A big thanks to all the members of the Green Needham Plastic Waste Reduction team, the many organizations that supported this article and our elected Town Meeting representatives.
