According to the MassDEP, New England is facing a landfill crisis. We are running out of space in existing landfills, and very soon we will have to ship our trash to other regions (whose residents are poorer and need the revenue). Even though Newton incinerates its trash, there is still the toxic ash that needs to be disposed of. This all but guarantees that the cost of trash disposal in Newton will rise dramatically in the next waste hauling contract (2025) and in the contract with the waste-to-energy facility (2028). This is added cost that must be born by Newton taxpayers. Our best solution to keep costs down — and be environmentally responsible — is to reduce the waste we generate in the first place, compost our food scraps, and recycle more. Residents and business owners both have a responsibility in this waste reduction effort when it comes to take out.
In 2019, the City passed the ban on foam polystyrene take out containers, foam packing peanuts, and plastic stirrers. Three years in, the measure has been a great success and these non-recyclable items no longer litter our city. Now, the expanded sustainable packaging ordinance will eliminate from our waste stream more single use plastic items that cannot be reused, composted or recycled. We recognize that take out will remain a popular and important revenue stream for local restaurants, but we believe it is possible to do it in a more environmentally responsible way.
Last year, we spoke with the head of a local business that serves their food in BPI-certified compostable containers and composts at their locations. He said the best thing the City could do to help his efforts was to “level the playing field” by having all businesses do their share for the environment. Recently, Judith’s Kitchen and Grape Leaf Mediterranean Grill have started to offer take out in reusable containers that customers bring back to their stores. Zero waste. These local businesses are leading in their commitment to reducing plastic waste and setting the example for the rest of us. It may seem a drastic change for the rest of us to make the shift, but in reality, businesses are already using many containers that are compostable or recyclable: clear and translucent plastic containers are recyclable as are aluminum ones, and pizza is sold in recyclable/compostable paper boxes.
White alternatives to the black non-recyclable containers are available on the internet and are the same price as black plastic. (Searching “white plastic takeout container” shows that sites like webstaurantstore.com and restaurantware.com offer black and white equivalents.) It is true that some items may be delayed by supply chain issues, but these are temporary. Moreover, as the demand for white plastic grows, suppliers are likely to work harder to make them available. As we generate a demand, the price of compostable containers will fall in line with non-compostable items.
It would be wonderful if we could leave the passage of these laws to the state legislature. Unfortunately, the state has failed repeatedly to enact legislation on plastic waste reduction. 154 individual communities in Massachusetts have banned the use of single use plastic bags, but the MA lawmakers still cannot manage to pass a statewide ban. The last attempt to pass a ten-cent bottle deposit law failed in 2014. Unwilling to wait for state action, 24 communities in MA including Arlington, Brookline, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Orleans, Provincetown, Rockport, and Wellfleet have banned single use plastic water bottles in some form. It doesn’t make sense for Newton to wait.
PFAS, BPA, and micro-plastics are just a few of the known threats of plastics use to our future. Replacing the worst single-use packaging with recyclable, compostable, or reusable alternatives is the low hanging fruit — action that we can take now. Our ultimate goal should be to eliminate all single-use plastics and move to reusable items and/or compostable replacements with a readily available organics collection system. The proposed expanded sustainable packaging ordinance is a great step in the right direction.
Sunwoo Kahng
Member, Newton Plastics Reduction Working Group
