Brewster Organization Continues to Push For Plastic Bottle Ban

BREWSTER – An environmental organization continues its efforts to ban single-use plastic bottles on Cape Cod.

Brewster-based Sustainable Practices has been screening the documentary “Divide in Concord” across the Cape since the beginning of April highlighting how a similar ban was implemented in the Massachusetts town.

The organization is working to raise awareness about the harmfulness of plastics and to place town meeting articles on the warrants of several Cape Cod towns next spring.

“Our goal is really to get out there and educate people and help them understand both the negative aspects of plastics use and also understand that government can only facilitate the type of civic actions that we as citizens demand that it facilitate,” said Madhavi Venkatesan, the organizer of the screenings.

Venkatesan said just recognizing that the plastics are not good for the environment is not enough.

“To get the government to actually act upon it means that we have to vote people into office that are community and environmentally focused,” she said. “And we also have to have grassroots action enough to show that it is something relevant and important to us and that is what our whole initiative is all about,” Venkatesan said.

Venkatesan said Sustainable Practices is working on the legality of the bylaw to go before town meeting voters.

“Whatever we put on the town meeting warrants across the Cape in the spring of 2019 will pass and will pass the Attorney General’s office as well,” she said.

Venkatesan said the use of single-serve plastic bottles is a trend that is relatively new.

“When I was young there were no plastic bottles,” she said. “It’s not really something that has been around forever.”

Venkatesan said since the ban passed in Concord people have gone back to using thermoses, glass and reusable plastic water bottles and water fountains.

“The great benefit of trying to get people to drink water from municipal sources is that the water is protected by the Safe Drinking Water Act so it is fully regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency,” she said. “You know what is in your water. You do not know what is in your bottled water.”

Venkatesan said bottled water is not as highly regulated as tap water.

Remaining screenings of the documentary are at the times and locations below.

  • Truro Library, May 12, 10:00 – 12:00 AM
  • Brewster Library, May 12, 2:15 – 4:00 PM
  • Dennis Library, May 19, 10:00 – 12:00 AM
  • Falmouth Library, May 19: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
  • Wellfleet Library, May 26: 3:00 – 5:00 PM

The plastic bottle ban documentary coincides with the organizations Sustainability Films Series which focus on other elements of sustainability including animal, environmental and human rights.

“The Last Pig,” a documentary on animal rights, will be shown Saturday morning at the Chatham Orpheum Theater at 10 a.m.

A vegan tasting will follow the film.

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