WELLFLEET – The first ban on single-use plastic bags on the Cape takes effect today in Provincetown.
A bylaw for a ban in Wellfleet will be voted on at town meeting on April 27.
Wellfleet Recycling Committee Chair Lydia Vivante says a ban was proposed a few years ago but was postponed.
“We thought that since Provincetown passed theirs in the fall in November that we would give it another shot,” she said. “And we modeled our bylaw on Provincetown’s successful bylaw.”
Vivante says the issue is gaining traction across the Cape.
“I think it’s a good trend,” she said. “Seeing that Provincetown did it, Falmouth also has a bylaw in place and both Harwich and Brewster are considering it.”
Vivante said the bags cause environmental issues as only 15 percent nationwide are recycled and they harm marine animals.
“There’s people that go to the supermarket every day, every week and they are given dozens of bags at a time,” she said. “It’s a very disposable design and we are looking to make a transition to more sustainable living.”
The proposed bylaw will be discussed at Wellfleet’s pre-town meeting event Thursday at the Wellfleet Library at 7 p.m.
