When Volante Farms switched from plastic bags to paper bags at their grocery checkout, it was a “little bit of a learning curve” for customers and staff alike, owner Steve Volante said. “You don’t overfill them. The handles all rip,
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
By: Kathy Raiz and Robert Fernandez ARTICLE 39 With Needham’s 2023 Spring Town Meeting underway this week, proponents and supporters of Article 39, ending single-use plastic bags in our town, are optimistic that members will deliver environmental protection to our
A big thank you to the Sierra Club’s Massachusetts Chapter for authoring a letter of support for the Plastic Bag Ban by-law proposal, Article 41 at the upcoming May Annual Town Meeting. The Plastic Waste Reduction team has been reaching to
Mark your calendar for an upcoming Green Needham program “The Problem with Plastic,” hosted by Kathy Raiz, a member of Green Needham’s Plastic Waste Reduction Team, to be held on Monday, April 3rd at 7:00 pm, in the Community Room of the Needham Public
Plastic production has exploded since the 1950s. Its successful role in many applications during World War II helped to spark tremendous growth in the ensuing peacetime economy. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, global plastics production surged by 20 times
In the classic 1967 movie The Graduate, Ben, the main character played by Dustin Hoffman, is chatting at his college graduation party when he is urgently pulled aside by Mr. McGuire, a mid-career family friend. In a hush tone, Mr.
With overwhelming support at Town Meeting on May 3, 2023, Needham passed the Plastic Bag Ban Citizens’ Petition Article, and joined the over 150 towns and cities in Massachusetts that have passed similar plastic bag bans. The ban will go into effect January 1, 2024, for large stores, and July 1, 2024 for smaller stores.
The timing was perfect — a new waste ban for textiles in Massachusetts, a bombshell Greenpeace study casting doubt on plastics recycling, and an engaged audience anxious to get their questions answered. The Nov. 2, 2022 Needham Solid Waste Forum,
