In Plymouth, thousands of NIPS containers picked up in a couple of hours at the recent annual fall clean-up day, conducted by the Plymouth Network of Open Space Friends.
The group has had a working relationship with the town for years, the DPW picks up the purple bags in which the trash is collected.
Bobbi Clark has more:
Evelyn Strawn coordinates the efforts of the Network of Open Space Friends. She says that after talking about it for several years, the group decided…
“…this year we would try to do what we called a waste audit and we separated the NIPS. So when volunteers were out picking up trash along the side of the road, in just a couple of hours in Plymouth, we picked up more than 3,500 of these NIPS. ”
And yet, at their August 31st meeting, the majority of the Select Board struck down Article 24 calling for a ban on the sale of NIPS in town. Some Selectmen basing their vote against, on bills in the Legislature that propose a deposit on the sale of NIPS.
State Representative Matt Muratore:
“There are actually four bills that are pending up at the State House for the NIP bill. Right now though, I think some of the communities are getting frustrated because that bottle bill has been going through for ten years now, nothing happens, and yet the litter is on the side of the road.”
And Selectmen Cavacco and Bletzer have insured that nothing will happen at Fall Town Meeting. That means the Legislative body of the town, will not be allowed to debate the matter, because on their recommendation, Article 24, was ultimately withdrawn.
In June 2020, Falmouth Town Meeting banned the sale of NIPS and in March, the Attorney General’s Municipal Law Unit approved the bylaw, finding it not pre-empted by, or inconsistent with state law.
