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Needham select board agrees to sponsor 'skip the stuff' and black-plastic bylaws; declines single-use water bottle ban this year
Summary
After hours of public comment, the Select Board voted to sponsor a bylaw that would stop automatic inclusion of disposable accessories with takeout orders and to back a ban on black plastic foodware (with a 4-ounce exemption). The board decided not to sponsor a single-use plastic water-bottle ban for 2025.
The Select Board on Feb. 11 voted to sponsor a “Skip the Stuff” bylaw that would require restaurants to include single-use accessories — napkins, utensils, condiments — only when customers request them, and to sponsor a bylaw banning black plastic foodware, with an exemption for items 4 ounces or smaller. The board declined to sponsor a separate bylaw that would ban single-use plastic water bottles this year.
Green Needham representatives presented the proposals at the meeting and said the measures aim to reduce waste and human exposure to microplastics. "The most recent research ... found up to 7 grams of plastic in the cadaver brain," said Kathy Reyes of Green Needham. She said the group also plans to publish a town tap-map to show public refill points.
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