ORDER-2018-53 : Amending Melrose Revised Ordinances, Chapter 198 by adding Article V - Recyclable and Reusable Bags; further add Section 198-11 Use of Recyclable and Reusable Bags as set forth herein.

Transcript (~1 h 21 min @ 22:10)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 20:40 John N. Tramontozzi: This is the Legal and Legislative Committee of the Board of Aldermen for the City of Melrose. My name is John Tremantosi. I'm the Chairman of the Board of the Legal and Legislative Committee. With us this evening are voting members Alderman Wright, who's the Vice Chairman, Alderman Mortimer, Alderman Forbes, Alderman Zwirko, President Kahn. Also, in addition, a meeting with us this evening, although non-voting members, is Alderman Boisselle, Alderman Inferno, Alderman Lemmerman, Alderman McAteer-Margolis, and Alderman Medeiros. As a reminder, this meeting is being recorded pursuant to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, and it's available for reviewing at any later date. I see we have a full house, so we're going to open the floor for public participation. Motion by Alderman Boisselle. alderman mortimer seconded by alderman's work on the motion all in favor aye aye the opposing none okay so this is that portion of the meeting uh we're going to open for floor to the floor for public participation but before we begin i was remiss in not reading the order we have one order on the agenda this evening uh and the order is order number 2018-53 amending melrose revised ordinances chapter 198 by adding article 5 recyclable and reusable bags further adding section 198-11 the use of recyclable and reusable bags that set as set forth here in this order was sponsored by non-voting members mary beth back at the my goal is in alderman at lodge michael's workout so we do have a motion that's been seconded to open the floor for public participation if anybody would like to come forward to comment on the order there's uh if you come to the table sign in please name an address introduce yourself and begin good evening my name is trudy mcdonald

▶ 22:45 Speaker 3: i live at 34 south high street and i've been a resident of melrose for 37 years my interest in the subject of the reusable bags stems back many years i have been helping with cleanups at El Pond and the Fells and on Martin Luther King Day here in Melrose for many years each time we pick up a lot of plastic a lot of litter and every year it seems like we're picking up more and more litter so finally occurred to me after many years that maybe we should do something about that instead of just picking it up what could we do to reduce the actual amount of litter so that led me to join the recycling committee and the subcommittee on single-use bags and that's when i really started to learn about the impact of this plastic on our environment not just on melrose but on the whole planet so last winter we met with mayor dolan and he was supportive our our initiative to limit the number of bags we called it the bring your own bag initiative but he had some concerns about the impact of this on seniors and on people with disabilities so I'm a senior I volunteered to go speak to the seniors so I did that I spoke with the residents at all six of our senior housing complexes here in Melrose I also spoke at the senior Center and we've had some support from this group when that in that endeavor and through the

▶ 24:22 Speaker 3: generosity of the Melrose Bank I was able to get a thousand of these bags which I delivered to all of those senior housing residents and to everyone who came to my presentation at the senior center at each event we initially heard some concerns about well what am I going to do with my pet waste if we get rid of the single-use bags but after the presentation and I explained that they would still have plenty of bags and still produce bags there's still newspaper bags and numerous other bags that it was only affecting the single use checkout bags people understood and after seeing the presentation understood why we needed this ordinance and the discussion quickly turned from concern about the pet waste to how are we going to remember to bring our new bags with us so over the past year our committee has done some educational outreach not only to the seniors but to the community at large we have done presentations at the farmers market at healthy Melrose at the Victorian Fair at swap day and numerous other events our last event was the Sunday before Thanksgiving we handed out bags at shaw's market at all of these events most of the people the majority of the people were in favor of this idea of an ordinance to limit the number of plastic bags so i respectfully asked this committee to vote in favor of this ordinance i think it will go a long way towards making a difference in our environment i think it's will be a much more lasting effect them picking up litter every year year after year which isn't been too effective and i think it will give the next generation of melrose a much greener city and show them that we really do care about our common home here in melrose thank you thank you is there a pen designer my name is janine

▶ 26:40 Speaker 3: venuti i've been a resident of melrose for 47 years and i went down to the local businesses this weekend and spoke with many of the owners and only two of them were aware of the ban no one else was aware of it i asked if the ban went into effect would you provide a paper bag with handles and repeatedly they said no because it was too costly so unfortunately that means people with mobility issues such as my parents who have parkinson's or my neighbor who uses a cane that will be a problem because it doesn't have a handle um they also this band is treating all point of use bags as the same even though there are plastic bags made out of plant-based material which means there'll be no petroleum used it's 100 recyclable so that should you know meet their needs but all plastic bags in this category are being treated the same now one of the businesses which was mitre biter knew about the ban because he's a chamberman member but he wasn't opposed to it because it didn't apply to his large plastic bags which seems kind of hypocritical because we're not banning his bags or ziploc bags or trash bags which truly are only one use whereas the plastic bags you get at the store most of us reuse i use them for you know my waste paper barrels i use them for my kitty litter and for wrapping up things so in essence if this band goes in effect instead of getting two uses out of a plastic bag i'll have to purchase a plastic bag which will only get one use now uh trudy also mentioned that she finds a lot of plastic bags around mirrors i've had a doctor site for 17 years in murrows i'm the only one cleaning that site up and i've never had i don't have plastic bags down there because i know they're being reused i do have all the coffee cups the papa juno's cups the dunkin donuts cups and cigarettes and alcohol and stuff like that but those again aren't being banned so i think this is too broad of a band and it's not it's just saying to the businesses we're going to take your plastic bags away figure out what to put in that might meet your customers needs now my parents as i said have mobility issues my neighbor uses a cane and i spoke with them and they said if the band goes into effect they'll simply go to route one because they can drive without a problem but they have problems picking things up um and that's just it uh i think a little more needs to be worked with the businesses and see how what can be provided that would meet their needs their customers needs before a total ban goes in thank you thank you good evening

▶ 30:03 Speaker 3: my name is cassandra kudelitis i live at 29 crystal street which is opposite el pond and i've spent many a day going across the street and fishing plastic bags out of the woods tangled in thorns in the water um just making a mess and we have to think about this in 1962 these single-use plastic bags were invented in Sweden. They came to use in 1976 in supermarkets. We lived quite well for a long time without them. And we learned to manage how we carried goods. And now it seems like we've reinvented the idea of having reusable bags, which is great. I have some behind me, not as a prop, but because I'm going shopping at Shaw's right after this with my son. I wanted him to come here tonight to hopefully see history in the making for the good of the environment. You know, something that we can do to benefit, to kind of unwind all of the degradation that we've caused over the years by all kinds of plastic waste. You know, not even gonna get into all the different other kinds of it. But I do hope that you'll vote in favor of the ban, of the ban, rather, and I would be more than happy if anybody has any financial issues regarding getting a reusable bag to volunteer to purchase one for them. Or 100 for them, whatever it takes, so thank you for your time.

▶ 31:25 Speaker 1: Thank you.

▶ 31:35 Speaker 3: Good evening. Good evening.

▶ 31:45 Speaker 3: My name is Steph Zabel, this is my husband Henry Kessner, and this is our daughter Hazel. We live on North High Street. I have my own small business as an herbalist and an educator, and I create and organize community building events in the area. My husband Henry and I are very happy to be a part of the Melrose community, and We want to do what we can to keep it a healthy, beautiful, and vibrant place to live and to raise our daughter. I'm here to share my support on the Band of Plastic Bags because I love this town, I love this earth that we share, and most of all, I love this child. I want to see a world where people come together to make mindful, responsible, and life-affirming choices. Getting rid of plastic bags is a small but powerful step towards creating the kind of healthy and vibrant world we all want for ourselves and for our children. I see this as more than a decision about whether or not Melrose should ban plastic bags. I also see this as an issue of how individual choices and actions have long-term collective consequences. Personally, I have grown tired of the mainstream consumerist culture that tells us that all of our individual desires should always be fulfilled no matter their long-term consequences and no matter the harm they may cause and I'm frustrated of seeing choices being made that are short-sighted and money-driven regardless of the cost they have on other people's lives and on environmental health and well-being I know we're here tonight to focus just on plastic bags but to me this issue is also deeply connected to how we live upon the earth, how we take care of and respect our resources, and what kind of world we want our children to inherit. The continued existence of single-use plastic bags has a hidden cost that is much too high. It is a cost that will be paid for by the lakes and oceans that they pollute, by the wildlife that they harm or kill, and by the future generations who have to deal with a degraded environment and dwindling resources we have a personal and collective responsibility to limit the environmental harm that these bags cause and I believe this responsibility is much more compelling than any individuals desire to use plastic bags simply because they are convenient we can make a better choice here as a community we can make a mindful responsible and life-enhancing choice a choice that can spread outwards in powerful ways a choice that helps to to create the healthy and vibrant world we all deserve to live in. Thank you. Thank you.

▶ 34:34 Speaker 1: We come in a package. We'll make it very simple. So I'm not gonna come to you as a father, a new father who's very concerned about the world that she's gonna grow up in, or someone who loves the outdoors and feels very compelled to live in Melrose because we have the fowls in our backyard, or even just a Melrosean, or not just, I shouldn't say that, as a Melrosean, who moved here for the historic beauty of this town and really in hope of finding our forever home. I'm just gonna speak to you as one of many, what we kind of say is conscientious consumers. You know, we represent folks who really think about the food we eat, what we put on our back.

▶ 35:17 Speaker 1: We do research and we make choices based on how businesses, towns, politicians, how they think how they now they act and how they protect the environment so this is what brought our family to Melrose and actually I have to say why our streets largely comprised of families that are from JT Somerville Cambridge and a lot of other really progressive towns they're coming here and it's gonna keep happening and once it's also why I picked the dentist I go to in Melrose it was there at an environmental page and it spoke to me and a lot of others so um so business

▶ 36:05 Speaker 1: and town and this this may be a small step um but it speaks volumes to what we we hold dearly for our family and how we act as consumers so we ask you to please consider this bill and help me my neighbors make very easy holiday shopping decisions this year and help reinforce um why we chose melrose as our forever home so thank you thank you hi my name is um

▶ 36:47 Speaker 3: tana jancy i've lived in melrose for 30 years and raised my two children here i support the proposed recyclable and reusable bag ordinance i believe we can live without the plastic bags It's a shame that we use so much disposable material just to carry our goods home from the store. We could avoid it by creating a habit of bringing bags to the markets ourselves. It took me a few years, but eventually I've changed my habits and bring my own bags. In my home, I'm surprised how quickly the plastics accumulate from all the various items that are wrapped with it. I'm committed to recycling in my home, however, I feel recycling is not the best solution for plastic bags. learned that the plastic belt wet bags clogged the sorting systems at the recycling center and must be manually separated from all the other

▶ 37:41 Speaker 3: recyclables this additional step is time-consuming and seems to be a bad use of staff resources and can be avoided please pass this ordinance for Melrose

▶ 38:02 Speaker 3: thank you thank you hi excuse me Ellen Katz 70 line Street I'm here to speak on behalf of the Melrose Energy Commission who is urging the Board of Aldermen to vote in favor of this ordinance on plastic checkout bags so as you may know the Energy Commission we've worked for more than a decade to help the city and residents save energy and and protect the planet we've always had this dual mission which is to help our own lives and people in our community but also to have an impact globally by preserving, helping to preserve the natural environment and reducing the impacts of climate change. So this ordinance does the same thing. It helps our community by reducing litter, but it also has a larger impact on the planet. Plastic bags, as other people have said, and I'm sure as you've read, plastic bags use a lot of fossil fuels as they're being manufactured, only to be used once and then tossed, possibly used twice and then tossed a lot end up floating into the ocean where fish and wildlife often end up tangled in or ingesting the plastic so I also feel though we feel that it's important to note that just banning the single-use plastic checkout bags is really only one step it's more important reduce the number of checkout bags altogether most of us already have piles of reusable bags that we've accumulated at home and it's really it's it's as other people have said you just it becomes a habit put them in your car your bike your handbag and then just use them it takes a bit of planning at the beginning but it quickly turns into habit so in closing the Energy Commission would like to thank the recycling committee the Board of Alderman our city government and businesses and residents for coming together and taking this important step to help our community and the environment thank you thank you hey there

▶ 40:25 Speaker 4: my name is Robin Peavy I own a business in town called Buckelews on Main Street next to Turner's 504 Main Street I also live here in Melrose at 308 East Foster Street I wanted to follow up

▶ 40:40 Speaker 4: i'm sorry your name was ellen ellen's um talk because it really does kind of i feel like i need to follow up with what she said because i think there's something really important and i'm a little nervous about the ordinance being passed i'm not nervous because i think it will have some undue cost or burden on small businesses i think that's not the issue i already use recyclable bags that are made of recyclable materials most of my customers a lot lot of my customers bringing their own bags and it's fantastic I love that and I encourage it what I worry about is that as a town and there's a group here we're going to say check box done we don't have any more plastic bags or we only have a certain type of plastic bags aren't going to be used anymore and I don't see anything that's really going to change the behavior of the consumers I know that a lot of my fellow business owners were not happy about the idea of charging for bags I personally thought that was fine and I even have considered the idea of charging and putting a can up and letting people put the money in and I'll take that and give it to the Melrose emergency fund I don't it's not about the money to be in charge of the bags but how do we get consumers to actually change their behavior in the long term it's not about the individual bags it's about no bags you know I would love to see us get to a place like in Europe where you would go into a store and you ask for a bag and you almost get laughed at because nobody expects a bag you bring your own bags now you know

▶ 42:11 Speaker 4: that's like getting from here to there what I would love to see and does this conversation continue that this isn't a one-off let's just check the box and move on I'd love to see that this is a great first step I love the idea that we're not going to have any more of those thin plastic bags that's fine but But let's also consider different types of materials. I think one of the speakers earlier on had also mentioned there are bags that are made out of vegetation and they're completely combustible. You can put them in your compost pile. Let's don't narrow the definition of what can be used to the point where then we eliminate maybe some good things. So we have to think about that. And then let's also talk about how do we get there? How do we get to changing behavior? I don't see this bill doing anything to change consumer behavior what I read it as the Board of Health will come in do their inspections on the businesses and they'll check us out and make sure that we have the right bags and if we don't then we get fined I'm like okay how's that going to change consumers because they're they're not impacted in any way other than maybe being inconvenienced for those few people who really like having those thin plastic bags so I I guess all I want to say is this is a great first step let's see it happen but then I'd really like to see how as a community do we keep going whether it's through public service announcements campaigns something coming out of the mayor's office or something where we really can note you know ways of really raise awareness for people just to stop using bags that are that are you throw away just use bags that you can use again and again multi-use bags for everything all the time anyway that's all but thank you very much for your

▶ 44:06 Speaker 5: time you have some props

▶ 44:09 Speaker 3: I live at 33 Woodland Ave lived in Melrose since I was two and I am a mother of three and we do our best to reduce our plastic bags we bring our reusable bags every time we go to the store but still over the past six months months I've accumulated all of these bags none of these are grocery bags bags from bread bags from grapes from when you order stuff online which I do quite frequently because I don't want to take three kids clothes shopping and every time I order something it comes in a bag and then each individual item is in its own bag so there are just so many plastic bags that are in our environment and i'm trying my best to reduce our use my kids take all of their lunches and reusable bags to school snack bags when we go to the grocery store we also bring a bag to the deli counter so we don't take the plastic bags for our cold cuts we bring our own produce bags for our fruits and vegetables but there still is just so many prevalent plastic bags so i agree that this is an important first step and i urge you to pass this and somehow we need to think more beyond, obviously, the city of Melrose. But as a as a community, as a state, as a country, as a world, how can we reduce plastic overall? But I do think that's an important first step. And I urge you to please pass this ordinance. Thank you.

▶ 46:05 Speaker 4: I have a long name.

▶ 46:09 Speaker 3: My name is Michelle Devoe. I live at 53 Wentworth Road.

▶ 46:18 Speaker 3: When I became aware of the incredible impact that plastic has on our environment, I just realized I wanted to do something about it personally. So no-brainer, I started bringing my own bags to the grocery store with me. And that was about ten years ago. And then five or six years ago, I started bringing plastic bags everywhere. I mean reusable bags everywhere I went and also I don't like Rebecca they were

▶ 46:47 Speaker 3: piling up and I I don't accept plastic bags for my cold cuts or anything like that so consequently in our house I you know you really wouldn't find a plastic bag other than for my my mail-order clothes so I'm really here to testify tonight that life is more than possible and goes on quite comfortably and quite easily in our home with no plastic bags and well I can't say no because like Rebecca but really we just use one plastic bag a week to throw away our garbage we do not line any additional baskets or buckets in our house with plastic bags we don't see the need every once in a while if we have to wash one out we do so that's one plastic bag a week and for a dog waste we've used biodegradable bags and then all those other bags that come if if people don't want to buy the biodegradable bags for their dogs they can use all those bags that come into their home Rebecca's already talked about them and my favorite bag is the bread bag we use them for our shoes when we travel I use them for lettuce and different things and I often don't use you know I don't need anything at all for my for my groceries so in all the years that I've been using plastic bags for my groceries I have never once gotten ill from them because I know some some companies are you know touting that is a problem with life with reusable bags but that is not a problem and the only thing I can say that i do get from reusable bags is a warm and fuzzy feeling from doing something right for the

▶ 48:53 Speaker 3: environment so that's it thank you my name is nancy gorman i live at 19 longfellow road i've been a melrose resident for 39 years i first want to say i commend rebecca i raised four children but never had those issues about bringing the bags and boy putting her cold cuts and bags and everything i really think that's wonderful um i first became aware of the issues regarding um well i support melrose in reducing and eliminating plastic bags and i first became aware of the importance of this issue when i read about and watched the documentary on mmtv bag it

▶ 49:38 Speaker 3: that really brought home to me the effects on not only our environment but our health thinking about my nine grandchildren in the long-term effects of plastics in our society so reducing or eliminating plastic bags is one small step but I think it's an important step in eliminating the use of plastics and I support that measure thank you my name is Eugenia Gibbons and I live at 98

▶ 50:39 Speaker 1: East Wyoming Avenue here in Melrose I'm a mom to two kids I have a five-year-old and a three-year-old I'm sleep-deprived I don't know how they are and I'm here

▶ 50:48 Speaker 1: today to testify in support of the proposed ordinance I have to say the only time I ever encounter a plastic the only time ever ever happy when I encounter a plastic bag is when I'm walking along the beach or in the fells or something and I need something to pick up all the other litter that I'm encountering that is not a good thing we need to get rid of all this litter and all of the plastic so as I said I'm here to express my strong support for the proposed ordinance although once a convenient option single-use plastic bags are now a nuisance and a tremendous source of unnecessary waste and pollution these bags get trapped or tangled in trees actually as we speak there is a blue bag that has been haunting me for years. It is at the top of the highest tree in our yard. It is just turning into strings, reminding me every day why bags are bad. Reminds my five-year-old daughter why plastic bags are bad. Even she understands it. These bags choke our waterways. They strangle wildlife and worse. It's estimated that Melrose residents use about nine million single-use plastic bags per year nine million here in Melrose that's unnecessary waste and it's very much at odds with and undermines this community's efforts to be a shining example of sustainability Ellen spoke already about how complimentary this ordinance is to the work that the Energy Commission has done and continues to do to mitigate climate change and to reduce Melrose's carbon footprint plastic bags are annoying because they're plastic but plastic comes from petrochemicals. It's a byproduct of fracked gas and oil, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. It's important, I'm surprised it hasn't already been mentioned, but it's important to note that in Massachusetts, 59 communities across the Commonwealth have already adopted an ordinance similar to this. We're probably all very familiar with the fact that the City of Boston's Council unanimously passed its own ordinance about two weeks ago but 59 other communities were there already they've probably grappled with a lot of the same challenges and questions that this body is going to be asked to consider that you've already heard tonight and they found a way to address them and to overcome them and to implement these proposed ordinances with ease not without challenges but generally with ease so you have already been asked to think about what's the impact on customers going to be well we've already heard many consumers already use reusable bags in part because many of us shop at or dine in places that have done away with plastic altogether I'm thinking of Trader Joe's Whole Foods the Bangkok Thai spice McDonald's they've done away with

▶ 53:31 Speaker 1: plastic I also have aging parents one of them is here she's not really aging the other one is not here is aging and he has mobility issues he uses reusable bags. They're actually much easier and more convenient for him and easier for him to maneuver than the thin, flimsy plastic that can break. The impact on small businesses is something else you've been asked to consider. But I would suggest that if there is a business that has expressed a concern about the costs that might be imposed or the burden that a plastic bag ban might impose on them, that you consider a solution like a possible one-time waiver rather than an all-out exemption or refusing to move forward with the bag ban altogether there are solutions and we can find ways to work together with those businesses and then you've been asked to consider the impacts on environmental health and the sustainability of the community I noted plastic is it's it pollutes our environment it's comprised of the bags are comprised of chemicals that are toxic and whose production contribute to climate change which is something that I I am very worried about as the mother of two small children. And these bags, while some might think, oh, we can just recycle them, so we're doing our part to recycle, they don't actually get recycled that easily, which is why we end up finding them when we're walking on the beach or in the hills trying to clean up other waste. So with that, I would just ask this body to ‑‑ I respectfully urge you to move forward with the ordinance and allow it to continue forward so that Melrose can take this important first step towards becoming a fully sustainable community and a fully bring your own bag community even better thank you very much thank you hi my name is

▶ 55:26 Speaker 3: Lisa Montori Trimble I live at 11 Rider Ave and I'm really happy to be able to speak in support of this ordinance and thank the Board of Aldermen for taking it into consideration I've lived in Melrose I moved to Melrose about eight nine years ago and i have to say one of the thing one of the first things i did actually before we bought our house we came to an energy commission fair and i was so impressed about all the different vendors and the enthusiasm in melrose for becoming a more sustainable community and that's one of the things i really value about about this community so i people have spoken very articulately about the reasons to support a ban on single-use plastic bags i also agree that this is just a first step i would like to see things go further but i also i want to just say the importance of communities taking this step in changing social norms across the communities so i've been a long time recycler i used to recycle when you go and smash your bottles you know as a teenager i go smash my bottles in the recycling center um and uh but you know my husband and i often use um reusable bags but we i don't think we did it all the time until watertown and cambridge and somerville were we often go uh they actually charge you i think most of those communities charge you now for bags and so this is my what i take with me all the time now so it's really converted me to be more of a all-use reusable bag it's very simple it's easy to carry folds up and folds back down I don't think this is much of a burden for anybody I will also say my dad is 91 he lives in a community that does not have an ordinance like this and I'd much rather spend my time with him than managing all the plastic bags in his household when I go to visit him so thank you very much for again for considering this ordinance and I urge you to vote in support of it thank you

▶ 58:01 Speaker 4: thank you evening I'm Gina McNeil 97 Maple Street so I've sat in this chair

▶ 58:13 Speaker 4: before speaking to you on this topic and I'm happy to be here again with the proposed ordinance in front of us as was just mentioned all of the speakers

▶ 58:27 Speaker 4: tonight have really done a commendable job much more articulately than I will I'm sure, of saying why this is important to them personally and to the community. I would like to take a few minutes just to speak about the journey to get to tonight and what efforts that have been made on the part of the recycling committee and other individuals in the community to really bring us to this point. And I use the word journey intentionally because it really has been a couple of years in the the making from when we first really started talking about the problem of reusable bad or excuse me single-use bags in the community and trying to take action against them for folks who've become aware of this proposed ordinance just in the last few weeks or maybe the last few days it may be that they think this just came to be as a recent occurrence that we just sort of you know started working on this recently and and now it's in front of the board that's not the case at all as I said about two years ago two and a half years ago on the recycling committee we formed a subcommittee specifically to look at single-use bags and to be honest with you we approached it initially really thinking that an ordinance wouldn't be necessary in Melrose we'd heard about these laws in places like San Francisco Brookline places like that and we thought oh we don't we don't need that here in Melrose we can do this voluntarily so we thought why don't we go and talk to some of the big businesses where do the bags come from in Melrose we'll talk to Shah's we'll talk to CVS we'll talk to Walgreens we'll talk to Rite Aid and we'll ask them hey what can you work with us can you put up reminders so that people bring their own bags you know a sign in the parking lot something on the door instead of bagging a pack of gum in a plastic bag or sometimes double bagging a plastic pack of gum in a plastic bag can you say do you need a bag with that you know simple things like this so we talked to Shaw's we talked to all of the stores I just mentioned and basically they said no we're not gonna do that we have other things to do this isn't important to us we're not gonna do it Walgreens was the exception the manager there took some outreach materials that we'd prepared gave them to employees and unfortunately there's turnover and the management staff at the Walgreens and so that didn't really stick so I mentioned this is an example of how you know it's one example of some of the education and outreach that we tried to do for about a year and a half to really make a difference on a voluntary basis and we just found that like anybody who's trying to advertise a message or communicate a message in today's world it's really hard to get people's attention and to affect behavior change especially if some of the you know big businesses who are putting these bags into our community are not willing to help us on a volunteer basis so about a year ago we said let's really start to explore the possibility of an ordinance here at Melrose is this potentially something that's right for our community to kick that off we thought you know we really need to educate we really need to get information out there and inform the community about this issue so the recycling committee out of our own pocket we don't receive any funding from the city or other sources we bought the license to the film bag it which was mentioned earlier tonight we put it on MNM TV really uses a platform to go out and talk to people and to kind of get people thinking about this issue we've used it around the city in the senior centers at the Roosevelt School and some of the other schools really just to kind of educate and get people thinking about this issue. We also, starting in January, tried to get anyone who would listen to us to let us in their door. We spoke at a Rotary lunch. We wrangled a hole at the mini golf tournament at the library last winter, and we accosted people with information about plastic bags and why they're bad and how you should bring your own bag when they were trying to play mini golf. we probably were a nuisance at some point but we're really passionate about this cause and wanted to take every opportunity that we could to really get that message across so that people would understand why this is important and why we need behavior change what was really interesting to us is in all of these conversations the feedback that we heard was I've heard other communities have passed ordinances or laws to ban plastic bags is Melrose gonna do that we should do that here so we weren't saying do you want to be on bags people were saying to us we should do this we took this as a curtain encouraging sign sign that the community is ready for it along the way we also did a lot of outreach to the business community we met with the Chamber of Commerce in January February of last year the executive director there she helped us to send out a survey to businesses in the community sort of gauging how many bags they're using what their willingness to look at alternatives might be we did an informational session in August with some merchants at their monthly breakfast meeting here on Main Street and then most recently on November 14th we did an informational session excuse me informational session in Memorial Hall to really talk about the proposed ordinance at hand and really get active input from the business community so I mentioned all these things not to sort of say oh it's great that we've done all this outreach but really to underscore how much community involvement we've solicited throughout this process from all quadrants Trudy talked about outreach of the senior center we handed out reusable bags at one of the servants pantry or servants heart pantry just this last month we've really been trying to reach kind of every quadrant and I want to just touch on some of the conversations that we've had with the business community and some of what that's resulted in you know the business community here in Melrose is you know kind of our do a jewel in many ways we all you know treasure our business community it's one of the things I think a lot of people come to Melrose for us we're very concerned about how an ordinance like this might impact particularly the small businesses I know I know that change is difficult. I don't pretend to be walking the shoes of a small business person or a retailer. But I am pleased that we were able to get a number of businesses like Robin from Bucklews, who spoke earlier tonight, to come out and actually write letters of support. I think all of the aldermen would have received a letter from Lori at the Hourglass Gallery. I want to just read a little bit of what she has sent to the board earlier this week she says when I was approached by committee member Jean McNeil back in March this year about this ordinance I thought wow it's about time our glass has been in this community for over 18 years and we see how our environment has

▶ 1:05:49 Speaker 4: been affected I won't kind of believe her the whole thing but she wraps up by saying we really think that our glass has been doing all it can to provide education along with paper flags versus plastic we need a law in place to make

▶ 1:06:05 Speaker 4: this real and I also would like to share with you a letter that I received over the weekend from Turner seafood and I don't know if this has been submitted to the board already I'm happy to provide it after I read it dated December 8th

▶ 1:06:26 Speaker 4: 2017 very dry mouth this letter is from Joe Turner I am writing this letter as a representative of Turner's seafood grill and market to give our support for the current proposed plastic bag ban in Melrose although this proposal represents a significant cost challenge the reduction in non compostable waste and long-term benefits to our environment far outweigh these challenges that we will eventually solve if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at your convenience sincerely Joseph Turner and then lastly just today the Melrose Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter of support for the ordinance as well and you know that was submitted to the board so I won't read it so thank you very much for indulging me with these comments tonight again I just wanted to point out that we really do come to you in all sincerity with urging you to propose to support this ordinance to pass this ordinance because we believe there's a lot of strong community support behind it and the community has had a lot of opportunity over the year to learn about it and to provide their input as you pray here tonight very good

▶ 1:07:50 Speaker 3: thank you thank you my name is Eugenia Walsh and my daughter spoke to you

▶ 1:07:57 Speaker 3: earlier i live at 200 west foster um i just want to say to reiterate what people said about wildlife and the environment the ocean gyres the plastic mess that's in the clogging up our waterways all over the world i wanted you to think about some numbers and one is 27 i was 27 when plastic bags started to be all over the place i'm now 68 that means that 41 years of my life we've completely made a mess with plastic bags um and then the last number would be 400 it takes 400 years for one plastic bag to decompose or break down and then it's still plastic it's made a little tiny plastic particles and so just think about those numbers I have grandchildren and I'm very concerned about what will happen I've only lived in Melrose for the last year and a half but I came up from Florida and one of the things I used to do was walk on the beach when I was young in my 20s and I lived in Florida I used to walk on the beach there was beautiful it's a complete mess down there with plastic bags now I can tell you for a fact we need to get rid plastic bags so I'm here to support the ordinance thank you thank you good

▶ 1:09:45 Speaker 2: evening good evening my name is Brenda Bernard I live at 52 Sears Avenue it's right down the road and I came here tonight to voice my support like many of the others here for this ordinance I haven't lived in Melrose quite as long as some of the folks but we do really love it my wife is at home with our daughter right now she couldn't come it's bedtime and I just wanted to say that you know plastic bags they haven't been around that long folks have mentioned this in the past so what did people do before they were around those people are still alive they know how to handle things without plastic bags and so you know we can figure it out too it's not that hard we we've started a couple years ago taking reusable bags to the grocery store and you know it's really reduced the amount of plastic Rebecca had that big sack full of plastic I have three of those at my house one of the reasons I have three of them is it's such a pain to recycle it it's not easy you go to the bin at Shaw's it's full you know you go to the bin at the other store it's full you go to another store they don't have the bins out even though it's required so we really need to do something about this and I think this is our step in the right direction you know I'm tired of seeing the bags around town in the gutters in the trees in El Pond so please support it and hopefully we can make Melrose even more beautiful than it already is thank you guys thank you

▶ 1:11:37 Speaker 4: I'm Mickey blades I live in 46 Noel Road I've been in Melrose for the last eight years my husband grew up here he went to school and just around the corner from

▶ 1:11:47 Christine Casatelli: where I live is a little shop called apple of my eye it's on Franklin Street really a great consignment store I have two kids so I shop there a lot and Kathleen cankle is the owner there so I've been speaking to her a little bit about all of this earlier this year you know she I think it was around Earth Day or first day around in April she swapped out providing plastic bags at her store and started using paper bags and you know she is she's for this ordinance I don't want to speak for her she wanted to come tonight I was trying to get it to come but she wasn't able to but I thought what might be helpful is she actually recently did an interview with the Melrose Commission on women and I thought I would just read a small segment on this as they just they were pertinent and actually asked about this ordinance so they said how do you feel about it and she said I think it's great I really do I do bring my own bags everywhere this stuff does make an impact it does add up my biggest pet peeve in nature is seeing a plastic bag caught up in the high high tree limbs we can't reach it and you just see it just blows and then it starts to shred and you know those little pieces are going and some animal will think it's something else and eating it then she said this was years ago but I started thinking to myself I'm supplying my community with these single-use thin wasteful plastic bags so now we ask people do you want a bag you can donate all your extra paper bags to us preferably the handled ones you can buy secondhand clothing and we'll give it to you in a second hand bag we prefer people bring their own bags and a lot of people do that or they decline a bag altogether we ask every customer no matter what they're buying would you like a bag the majority of people say no or they brought their own I'm so happy to see the community not upset that we ask people to bring their own so again

▶ 1:13:34 Speaker 4: And while she's not here and I don't want to speak on her behalf, I think it's quite clear that she would be in favor of this, Ben, as I am.

▶ 1:13:43 Speaker 3: Thank you.

▶ 1:14:00 John N. Tramontozzi: Anybody else wish to come forward? Motion to close public participation, Mr. Chairman. Second. We have a motion to close public participation by Alderman Mortimer, seconded by Alderman Forbes. On the motion, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Seeing none, public participation is now over. I want to thank everybody for coming in, speaking about the ordinance. We do appreciate all of your presence here this evening. And, again, thank you so much for coming in. What's the will of the committee? Alderman Wright. Motion to recommend. We have a motion to recommend to the full board for passage by Alderman Wright. We have a second. Second. Second by Alderman Zwerchel. On discussion? We've had a lot of discussion this evening. Thank you again.

▶ 1:14:57 John N. Tramontozzi: Alderman Zwerchel?

▶ 1:15:00 Michael P. Zwirko: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, want to echo my gratitude to those that showed up tonight. It's not every meeting that we have we see the Chamber this filled, so I understand the importance of the issue. It's always nice to have public participation. I think it improves the process. so thanks all to being here and thanks to those that spoke those that wrote I've served in the board now for two years and I don't recall getting this much correspondence maybe there have been other orders but this has really been overwhelming so it's really a testament to how strongly folks feel about this so thank you and it helps inform everyone of the merits the

▶ 1:15:41 Michael P. Zwirko: challenge of our time at least of my generation I've always felt very strongly that it is combating climate change I think living in a community that's close to the ocean living in a world where we've seen the impacts of climate change you know often people will ask you know what is it that we can do on the local level to combat this because sometimes people feel it's really a federal problem or something where they have a larger impact than we do and in addition to making changes in our own lives at home and how we shop or how we consume or whether or not you have a garden at your house or participating in a community garden you know this is one way in which we at the local level can make effective change towards lessening the impact of climate change you know we're gonna be dealing with it for years to come and even though it's a small step it's an important one I would also like to reiterate that what was said about the amount of communities in the Commonwealth that have taken this on you know Melrose certainly won't be the first but we benefit from being one who's seen other communities tackle this problem there's a patchwork of these ordinances across the Commonwealth and that's actually beneficial to us because we in working through this ordinance you know there were some things that we initially thought that might be helpful and going out to the community as the recycling subcommittee did we tinkered with it enough to find what would fit for us and I think that the ordinance that's before us this evening is reflective of that so it's not to say that this is just coming up on us this past evening over the past couple weeks but you know in going through the entire process and outreach we've worked and tinkered on this I also wanted just to point out that we received a letter from the Friends of the Fells we received a letter from the Melrose Chamber we received letters from the Energy Commission and I think that those reflect the spectrum about the support and where it came from I think that it's broad support and I think that knowing that the businesses to are behind this as well as the outreach efforts that will continue should this pass this is not going to be something that was mentioned earlier is just to check the box and move on you know the recycling committee and the subcommittee has committed to working with not only only City Hall but also local businesses in how to improve this educate and prepare for the date when it rolls out in which the ban will take place so this will not end here tonight or next week or in the future when this is ultimately hopefully passed and then I just wanted to end by saying this certainly was a journey and I think that we should all be mindful that there are times when maybe we can act quickly on items and maybe we should but I thought in order to bring this item before the Board of Aldermen it's now coming at the end of at least a year of outreach I think that was more important to bring people into the process so I just want to say thank you for that and I overwhelmingly support this order and I hope that the members of the committee do the same

▶ 1:18:53 John N. Tramontozzi: Thank You mr. chairman very good you're welcome Thank You

▶ 1:18:56 Scott M. Forbes: Alderman Forbes yes thank you it has been a journey and I think it was very well said when people were coming up here to say that you have to change the behavior and change the the culture of how you think I know I've sat down with Gina earlier this year I was one of your skeptics thinking of you know I guess I really just didn't look at it in the big picture point of view so then I started carrying reusable bags with me and lo and behold I could see the change in myself I did not want to go into Shaw's unless I had a reusable bag if I did go into Shaw's and got 20 plastic bags I would be mad the fact that your bag could break if you put a box of pasta in it and really have no use for it at all and I honestly think that this is where it's trending now you see Shaw's offering reusable bags now I think that's the way that the the say the spaces is technically trending because I think that they know that this type of change has been long coming so I do support the order just looking in my back hall I was surprised to find that I had 15 reusable bags in my back hall that I didn't even know about and I never bought them they were just given to me at either one event or another so I understand that it's different for everybody and there are some people that are gonna be overwhelmingly in support of this they're gonna be some people that may not agree with it but I again taking a big-picture point of view and what I feel is best for the community and being able to see the outreach that has been done over the past year I do support the ordinance and I think that other communities will probably follow

▶ 1:20:36 John N. Tramontozzi: step in time thank you thank you Alderman MacMaster my goals I think

▶ 1:20:38 Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis: Alderman Wright is member of the committee first thank you sorry thank

▶ 1:20:45 Francis X. Wright Jr.: you appreciate it yeah I mean as someone who works for a municipality that passed an ordinance banning plastic bags several years ago and someone who has been through its implementation and you know seen a community work through it it is not as onerous as some people may believe and in fact it seems to go into effect relatively seamlessly there still will be bags available they'll be made of recyclable materials paper most often I have I work with people I interact with people in that community I shop in that community myself I get these bags I don't even think about it it you know not long after it went into effect I mean whether I went into CVS or into a small independent business or a bakery or a supermarket or whatever it doesn't even cross my mind I mean I'm if I'm grabbing something quickly they give me whatever they give me I if they ask if I want a bag I usually say no if they give me a bag it's it's usually paper I don't see this as a problem I think for and without getting into a lot of the reasons why we think we've heard it stated eloquently tonight whether it's litter or whether it's the environment I think this is the time to do this I think you know we need to catch up on this issue we lead on a lot of issues in this community I think it's on this issue we need to catch up so thank you mr. chairman very good well said thank

▶ 1:22:23 John N. Tramontozzi: you all the men right any other members of the committee who wish to speak before I recognize the non-voting members thank you mr. chairman I'm kind

▶ 1:22:33 Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis: of at the other end of the spectrum than my co-signer of the order, Alderman Zwirko, in terms of our points in life. But I think it's equally as important to leave this world a better place than we found it. And when I grew up in Melrose, we didn't have plastic bags. We had paper bags, we had string bags, and we didn't have the kind of litter that we that we have now and we didn't have the kind of consumerism society that we have where everything just sort of gets thrown in a bag you took something out of the store maybe you if it was you had a box for it or you had you know a paper bag or you had your own bag from home and I've always brought my own bags for years but I do think you know some of our larger retailers who are you know much bigger and more attuned less attuned to the environmental impacts I think we need to enforce we need to pass this ordinance in order to get them to make these changes the recycling committee as we've heard has done a tremendous amount of research there's been people handing out bags for years and even though most of us can you know 90% of the time bring our own bags if that plastic bag is available I mean there's plenty of times I go into a store and I'll I'll have my bags and they'll still start putting in in plastic and I remember when when this sort of started I was talking to Gina and you know we put the bag it on mm TV and I was sort of like well I mean everybody uses but doesn't everybody use are recycling you know recycle their bags and it just you know it was really eye-opening to me and at that point I said this is something that we really need to do for for Melrose and to make it you know as environmentally friendly and and attractive as possible and and for the environment as the whole as a whole and I think there comes a time when we really have to sort of draw the the line especially with some of our bigger stores and say you know enough is enough we we don't need to keep doing this there are many other alternatives and I see it more as a way to encourage them to really do the right thing I have heard only from a couple of people who have not been supportive of it and I do think that there will be other alternatives and it hopefully won't be too burdensome for them or force them to drive out of Melrose to do their shopping but any other issue that I have heard about heard from more people on on this has been a financial impact to the city and this really has no financial impact so I am really encouraged that this is the right thing to do that there are many people supporting it and that the recycling committee is is really do debt of gratitude for all their work and on really promoting it and and helping hone the right wording for this ordinance so that people will support it so I'm looking forward to voting for it I can't vote tonight I'm not a member of this subcommittee but next week at the full board and I encourage all of my fellow committee people to support it thank you you're welcome thank you

▶ 1:26:12 John N. Tramontozzi: Alderman Lemmerman you wanted to say something I just want to say thank you

▶ 1:26:18 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: to everyone who came down to speak in and to write you know I really believe that we have a responsibility to really people in our community of all ages but when we see kids come down and see this I think that you know that really drives at home and have a responsibility to the young man who came here with his mom before grocery shopping and to Hazel and Hazel looks like she was about my daughter's age and so I think a lot about my daughter when I think of these issues too you know I've talked to some people in other communities who have done this and I think over and over I've heard that there's some agita leading up to it and an anticipation of what it will be to implement these and and overwhelmingly every single time what I've heard is that it really wasn't that big of a deal and it just sort of went through and everybody adjusted and it was fine I think one issue that I just wanted to mention tonight that we've heard here before but we didn't hear it tonight that really also stuck with me was that if these plastic bags end up in our single stream recycling it's very detrimental to that process and and what we heard was that they actually literally gum up the works of that and a person has to come in and pull them out and so for a community that's very committed to recycling that's sort of a double whammy in that not only can we not recycle them with our recycling but they're actually detrimental to our recycling process so I am that was a concern and I think one of my biggest concerns when I first heard about this was the cost the added cost of buying bags and then much like Alderman Forbes I realized that I have accrued so many reusable bags and I've never purchased just one it's been going to the Healthy Morals Fair you get one and you go to a conference and you get them and they're they're sort of available everywhere and I know that we've talked about ways that it could be made available to the community so you know I'll just say that I think that more and more we're seeing evidence that environmental issues are the single most urgent threat facing us and that we need to do everything we can to take the long view in our policy making around this we have a responsibility to do that this is a way to do that and unfortunately I think we're continuing to see evidence that the the long view isn't so long anymore and we're really seeing some of the some of the harm being done and this is a way that we can mitigate some of that so I fully support it and and thank you for taking the time to come down thank you

▶ 1:28:48 Gail Infurna: very much mr. chairman I to support this concept and I will gladly support the ordinance it is about culture change in my profession during the day in the past few years I've learned day in day out it's about culture change and so I think we're all facing that on our day to day living I met with Gina many months ago and I wasn't quite skeptical but I was just I guess maybe a little lazy about doing it but she really brought a lot of things to my attention and I am now recycling plastic bags instead of clogging up my compact of my trash compactor it's it's nice I have a bag on the doorknob and I just keep on putting them in a little slow to get to Shaws with them but at least they're not going in the trash so that's that's a big step and I certainly look forward to working harder to really get myself into that habit of bringing my bags into the store I do it periodically and I tend to bring them in the house and then they just never get back in the car again culture change will do it I think it's a great concept I think it's something that we need to do it's the responsible thing to do so I think the recycling committee for all the work that they have done on bringing this forward I thank you all for coming out this evening and voicing your opinion so eloquently on it and I look forward to supporting this and and see how we do going forward I think it will work I think people will find that it it really isn't as cumbersome as they think me

▶ 1:30:20 John N. Tramontozzi: included very good thank you I think President Klein might have the

▶ 1:30:25 Speaker 3: last word up I always enjoy listening to all the eloquent presentations of my colleagues here but it seems to me this is a pretty simple issue that we're dealing with here we have huge environmental problem proliferation of single-use bags we pass an ordinance which creates maybe transitory inconvenience to people i don't think it makes any difference in the long run people are going to if they use bags made of different material we need to pass this ordinance i don't i can't really think of any reasonable reason why we would not do this i'm going to support it it seems to me a simple choice and hopefully the board can support this and we can move on past this and and move on to the next issue.

▶ 1:31:17 John N. Tramontozzi: Very good, thank you. And I did see Alderman Boisselle hand go up, so.

▶ 1:31:20 Robert A. Boisselle: Yes, I'd like to thank everyone for coming this evening to express their views on the position of the bags. I have a couple of questions though. Section F of the document indicates the establishments, retail establishments of 8,000 feet or greater for the first update and nine months later is basically 8,000 square feet or less, which will be the smaller type retail establishments. My question is Melrose has a lot of activities that other outside vendors come in. A prime example is the Victorian Fair. We have activities at Memorial Hall. We have activities at Cedar Park with the farmer's market and so forth. And from my understanding, they're all using plastic bags. Are these people exempt in this category at all? Maybe someone can answer that later on at the Alderman meeting. And also, this document at the top of the page is considered a draft document. Are we going to have a final document with some of the definitions cleared up a bit or added? Because it seems to be the first paragraph talks about single-use plastic bags and next we talk about checkout bags should they be the same definition at this point or there's some definitions in here that should be clarified or improved for a final draft because this

▶ 1:32:59 John N. Tramontozzi: indicates only a draft itself well we we have a broad definition of retail retail establishment means any any person corporation partnership business venture or vendor that sells or provides merchandise goods or material directly to the customer so i

▶ 1:33:15 Robert A. Boisselle: think that it probably does um cover but it says force it says for floor space for these establishments these vendors that come in doing these events are here for a specific three or

▶ 1:33:31 Speaker 3: four hours and they're gone are they exempt or are they covered this is a good point good point

▶ 1:33:33 John N. Tramontozzi: we'll look into that i think there's some definition that might be some tweaking but

▶ 1:33:42 John N. Tramontozzi: okay we'll get that all right thank you you're welcome very good i think alderman medeiros

▶ 1:33:47 Monica C. Medeiros: you want to say something too thank you yes thank you very much i'm not a voting member of this committee um i i definitely want to thank the recycling committee in particular the single use plastic bag subcommittee for all the hard work on this um i i definitely start off skeptical and i will tell you honestly i am still a little bit skeptical that that doing this one thing is this big panacea that's going to solve all of our problems because even if we go to a reusable bags that we use over and over again the environment does have a cost to that because we're generating so much energy just to make these bags which are sometimes made of plastics and things like that and then of course if we're washing them we're using energy, we're using water and it's not so simple and I do really appreciate everything that this committee has brought because like one of the speakers today in our house we we use those plastic bags multiple times we use them to bring something from here to there we use them as our trash bags and you know so now in my house we will probably be forced to buy trash bags for one single use through single use to throw out I'm stocking up for that time and you know I I do think it's a case where we're probably doing the right thing in my house by the plastic bags but I have been as through this process found that you know there's plenty of other people that aren't necessarily doing the right thing with the plastic bags people think they're doing the right thing by seeing the recycling symbol on the bag like Alderman Lemmerman pointed out and putting them in their curbside recycling which they absolutely cannot do because we although those are recyclable bags we in Melrose don't have the capability of recycling them in curbside you know these are things and challenges that we need to move forward with and they do do that in particular does have a cost that you know it slows down our recycling it jams up the works it makes recycling more expensive it spoils the recycling that we've taken out to you know people have done a lot of hard work to clean their recycling and so you know separate it out and make sure that they do the right thing and sometimes to have a whole a whole truck full ruined because somebody thought they were doing the right thing by recycling their plastic bags curbside so I'm willing to give this a try I I really appreciate the recycling committee for going through and you know meeting with me personally and you know I've been able through this process to realize you know there's so many things that are plastic that it's it's really not just the plastic bag it goes you know from everything from our hangers to to our

▶ 1:37:11 Monica C. Medeiros: you know containers to the wrapping that things come in that sometimes it is recyclable and sometimes it isn't but you know Jean has taught me a lot about thin plastic film that ziplock bags that can actually be recycled and you know I think there's a choice I know that Trudy said that she had gone to many of the businesses and ask them you know would you put up this sign and train your employees to say you know do I do I need a bag you know do you need a bag we have to train ourselves to say do I need a bag and you know it might be just that

▶ 1:37:51 Monica C. Medeiros: we can not use any bag whatsoever especially those you know of us who might carry a pocket so it's it's a change in mindset I think you've done an excellent job in the committee of uh you know educating people and this wasn't just you know thrown at us we have had plenty of opportunity to hear from the public and certainly it's been overwhelming that this is in support of and i think that's been a great educational tool for the public about plastics about plastic bags and also about the political process so i commend you for for leaving that so thank you very good thank you other than mortimer

▶ 1:38:36 Peter D. Mortimer: thank you very much chairman Tramontozzi most of the plastic the milk cottons can be recycled which is great and all the lemmerman aptly pointed out that these bags aren't recyclable presently at least not with any efficiency and they can actually cause a problem i was at shaw's today and um as a little reward for my daughter i wanted to get her some chicken wings and came in a plastic container number five recycling which was good and as soon as i got it one item they placed it quickly into a bag and i said please i don't need a bag and and put it back but it is a change in thinking and maybe there will be a little bit of inconvenience you might go to the store and oh you might have to buy one of those recyclable bags might cost you a dollar but you won't do it again I certainly won't but you know I'm already on board I think here we're all preaching to the choir and we do have to

▶ 1:39:46 Peter D. Mortimer: know how to do these things sometimes government has to lead from the bottom

▶ 1:39:52 Peter D. Mortimer: When I say the bottom, I mean something as low as a Board of Aldermen, because we're so low, we're playing handball against the curbstone. We're at the bottom, but the federal government is just jammed up, talk about jamming up the works and recycling, is just jammed up with the lobbyists. plastic bags are made from petroleum products so they won't do anything but one by one the cities and towns leading for the bottom as has happened with a bunch of other issues start to do it and if there's 59 now when we become the 60th there's 354 communities they'll start to catch on it's starting to happen with adopting with the demolition delay which we discussed last month and maybe that's the state of affairs in our country today is that the bigger the government it seems the more gridlocked it becomes and maybe the smaller municipalities the communities have to be the ones who take the bull by the horn

▶ 1:41:05 Peter D. Mortimer: the anthropologist cultural anthropologist from Columbia Margaret Mead said, never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

▶ 1:41:21 Speaker 1: She said that in the 1970s.

▶ 1:41:24 Peter D. Mortimer: This is a prime example of it. Generally, I'm not big hearts and flowers alderman giving everybody thank you, thank you, thank you when people come in here, except for the sports teams. But, in this case, it's well warranted. This was, to use Alderman WHEREAS expression, this was yeoman's work. All of you worked really hard to make this happen. And, sure, it is, as correctly delineated earlier by a few speakers, a first step, and there'll be progress. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And the work that the recycling committee and all the people who supported them put in will auger well for the future of our country. And this government in the city of Melrose, of which I've been a part for 16 years, has done a lot of great things in Melrose. But in this case, it was citizen action and citizen initiative, a recycling committee,

▶ 1:42:36 John N. Tramontozzi: their own volition who did some fabulous fabulous work here and I want to thank you all for doing so that's all I have very good thank you so we do have a motion on the floor which has been duly seconded a motion to recommend for passage this ordinance or this order I should say to the full board on the motion. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Seeing none, this order will be recommended to the full board for passage. Motion to adjourn, Mr. Chairman. Second. We have a motion to adjourn by Alderman Mortimer, seconded by Alderman Wright on the