skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Boston Plastic Bag Ban Coming to Vote

play audio
Play

Wednesday, November 29, 2017   

BOSTON – The Boston City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on an ordinance that would ban plastic bags in the city.

The average plastic bag given out at store checkout counters is used for about 12 minutes.

They are non-biodegradable, clog landfills and pollute the air when burned. They litter the streets, get snagged in tree branches where they shred in the wind, and end up as microscopic pieces in fish and other animals.

According to Kirstie Pecci, a senior fellow at the Conservation Law Foundation and founder of the foundation's Zero Waste Project, about 60 towns across the state already have enacted bans.

"Banning plastic bags is the best solution because, while technically plastic single-use bags are recyclable, they don't get recycled,” she states. “Only about 1 (percent) to 5 percent of the plastic bags used get recycled."

Last year, Mayor Marty Walsh expressed concerns about the measure's impact on small businesses and low-income people.

On Tuesday, his office reportedly still was reviewing the proposal.

Under the ordinance, shoppers would bring their own reusable bags to stores or purchase a more durable plastic bag for 5 cents.

Opponents call that a tax on consumers, but Pecci says it's an approach that works.

"As soon as you do that, you see an immediate decrease in the use of plastic bags and people become very used to bringing their own bags with them when they go to shop, and it works out really well," she points out.

Last year, California became the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags.

Even if the Boston ordinance fails to pass, Pecci is confident that a ban on plastic bags is in the city's future.

She points out that next year the city will begin the process of formulating a zero-waste plan to decrease waste and increase recycling and composting.

"So they've hired a consultant, they're starting public meetings on Jan. 4, and I think it's most definite that a plastic-bag ban has to be part of that," she points out.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021