Select Board hears public hearings on town moves to curb single‑use food packaging and expand plastic bag rules; petitioners, health staff back changes

Petitioners and town staff presented two related warrant articles at the Select Board’s April 1 meeting seeking to tighten Brookline rules on single‑use food packaging and plastic bags.

Article 18, filed by petitioners including Mothers Out Front volunteers, would amend the town’s sustainable food packaging bylaw to require that items such as utensils, napkins, wet wipes and condiment packets be provided only on request (a “skip‑the‑stuff” policy), to prohibit black plastic takeout containers that cannot be optically sorted for recycling, and to update definitions so that “compostable” packaging must carry recognized certification marks.

Brenda Hochberg, a petition co‑sponsor, said the amendments respond to both public waste reduction goals and enforcement problems: “There were nonconforming takeout containers being given out by restaurants,” she said, and current rules created ambiguity for enforcement officers. Petitioners said they had worked with health and public‑works staff and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee while drafting the article.

Article 19 would remove certain small‑seller exemptions from Brookline’s existing plastic bag bylaw and update the town’s reusable‑bag definition to a standard used in the Massachusetts Senate bill and elsewhere. Petitioners said nearly all large retailers have already moved away from single‑use bags, and the proposed change would bring small sellers into the same rule set.

Public health staff told the board the revised definitions — such as requiring specific compostability certifications rather than technical descriptions — make enforcement clearer. The Health Department and the Department of Public Works reported they support the clarifications; the Solid Waste Advisory Committee also endorsed the food‑packaging changes and the petitioners said the Small Business Development Committee was reviewing the language.

Select Board members asked about how the town would notify restaurants and small businesses and whether exemptions for food safety or charitable food distribution would be preserved. Petitioners said the bylaw would allow specific exemptions for legitimate food‑safety needs and that the Health Department already maintains outreach channels and materials to communicate rule changes.

Why it matters: The changes aim to reduce plastic waste entering Brookline’s waste stream, simplify enforcement for town departments and align Brookline with a growing number of Massachusetts municipalities that have tightened plastic and packaging rules.

Next steps: The items were presented as public hearings; petitioners and staff said they will continue outreach with the small‑business community and finalize language with town counsel and the moderator before Town Meeting consideration.

Sources and attribution: Statements in this article are attributed to petitioners Brenda Hochberg and Laura Knott, Health Department and Public Works staff and Select Board discussion as recorded in the April 1 transcript.