Martha’s Vineyard Towns To Consider Plastic Bag Ban

AQUINNAHMARTHA’S VINEYARD – The six towns on Martha’s Vineyard could join a growing list of communities implementing bans on single-use plastic bags.

The Vineyard Conservation Society is working with selectmen across the island to get a proposal before voters at town meeting in the spring. The ban would mean retailers could only offer reusable bags or paper bags at the checkout line.

“We want to be good stewards of our ocean,” said Vineyard Conservation Society staff member Samantha Look, citing environmental concerns the plastic bags carry with them. “We want to keep it clean and healthy and a vibrant environment for many, many generations to come.”

Proponents are seeking the island-wide ban via town meeting warrants in the spring. Look says the Vineyard community is intertwined and argues each town should implement the restrictions individually for consistency. Selectmen in Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and West Tisbury have already added it to their warrants, and Tisbury officials will take up the matter Tuesday night.

Look said they are undertaking an outreach campaign to residents and members of the retail community to explain their proposal.

Should any, or all of the communities on the island put a ban in place, they would join a number of towns in the region to do the same. Nantucket has had regulations pertaining to plastic bags dating back to the 1990s, and Barnstable, Falmouth, Harwich, Provincetown, and Wellfleet have also adopted similar measures.

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