Dear Zero Waste Arlington supporters,
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Advocate for Mass. plastic reduction legislation by July 31!
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Unfortunately, the Massachusetts House has stripped out the Mass Ready Act, the giant climate bond bill, and all the amendments pertaining to single use plastics that were originally passed by the Senate.
These include single use plastic bag bans, restrictions on restaurant utensils and straws upon request {“Skip the Stuff”) and bans on single use plastic water bottles.
- What next?
The bill will now go to a six-member joint House-Senate conference committee which will negotiate the different versions of the bill in order to reach some compromise. The current legislative session will end on July 31, so we have limited time to advocate for these amendments. - What can we do?
The conference committee is highly sensitive to “home district” pressure. Because the House has been the source of opposition to these amendments, contacting our Arlington state reps, Sean Garballey or Dave Rogers, will provide pressure on the joint conference committee to retain these amendments.
See our recommended form letter below.
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Urge Reps Garballey or Rogers to reach out to the House conference committee negotiators and House Leadership asking them to keep the plastic amendments in the Mass Ready Act.
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Rep Sean Garballey
tel. 617-722-2090
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Rep Dave Rogers
email Dave.Rogers@mahouse.gov
tel. 617-722-2263
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If you are unsure who your state rep is, enter your residential address in the official “Massachusetts General Court Find My Legislator” tool.
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Many thanks,
Paul Goldberg
Zero Waste Arlington Committee
Not sure what to write? Use our form letter
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Dear Representative XXX,
I am writing to urge you to please ask House conference committee negotiators and House Leadership to keep the plastics amendments in the Mass Ready Act.
Below are reasons to include the amendments:
- Plastic bag ban: Over 160 municipalities in Massachusetts representing nearly 70% of the population have already enacted such a ban; passage would create a uniform set of rules, rather than a fragmented mosaic of town-by-town differences.
- “Upon request” or “skip the stuff” amendment: Financial savings for restaurants; drastic waste and litter reduction; still fully accessible if customer wishes.
- Single use plastic water bottle ban: Manufacturing plastic bottles requires massive amounts of fossil fuels, creating an immense fossil footprint; tap water is subject to significantly stricter health standards, testing frequencies, and transparency laws than bottled water; municipalities spend millions of taxpayer dollars every year to clean plastic litter from parks, roads, and waterways; plastic fragments cause wildlife devastation when mistaken for food.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
