A plastic bag ban was adopted on the Vineyard two years ago by every Island town. But reusable bags being handed out at Stop & Shop stores are causing confusion, and problems.
As the organization that wrote and advocated for the plastic bag ban now in effect across the Island, we at the Vineyard Conservation Society were deeply disappointed to learn of the recent change at the Stop & Shop locations on Martha’s Vineyard.
Two competing bylaw proposals in Oak Bluffs this year may boil down to a difference of less than two thousandths of an inch for voters at town meeting.
Oak Bluffs voters could face dueling plastic bag ban bylaws at their annual town meeting, with business owners and conservation leaders offering their own proposals.
Riding a wave of consumer demand, a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags has passed the state senate and is making its way through the house ways and means committee.
Chilmark has become the fourth Island town to adopt a ban on single-use plastic bags, and will remain the last town on the Island not to allow beer and wine to be sold in restaurants.
After hearing from town business owners who opposed a proposed plastic bag ban as too costly and inconvenient, Oak Bluffs selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday not to include the measure on the April town meeting warrant.
The Vineyard Conservation Society has begun floating a proposal to ban most single-use plastic bags on the Island, citing the danger the bags pose to marine animals and birds.