Join the Cape Plastic Bottle Ban

The Cape Plastic Bottle Ban is an educational and citizen advocacy initiative focused on raising awareness of the environmental and human impact of single-use plastic bottle consumption. In 2019, we initiated the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban, which focused on eliminating non-emergency single-use plastic bottle purchase by town governments and sale of beverages in single-use plastic containers on town property across all towns in Barnstable County, Cape Cod. As of November 2021, all 15 Cape towns have adopted the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban. 

In 2020, we initiated the Commercial Single-use Plastic Water Bottle Ban (Commercial Bottle Ban). The Commercial Bottle Ban eliminates the sale of non-carbonated, non-flavored water in single-use plastic bottles of less than 1 gallon in size within the jurisdictional area of a town. Due to COVID-19, efforts in some towns were postponed. In spite of the challenge, 9 towns have the Commercial Bottle Ban in effect: Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Orleans, Provincetown, Wellfleet and Yarmouth.

In 2023, we began the Plastic Reduction Initiative, in an effort to highlight the adverse human and environmental impact of takeout containers and single-use plastic cutlery. Harwich and Yarmouth Town Meetings passed the by-law and assumed a leadership role for the Cape.

As we start 2025,  we are promoting elimination of disposable ware in  restaurant dining with the campaign Restaurant Reuse. 

We are committed to facilitating the Commercial Single-use Plastic Water Bottle Ban, the Plastic Reduction Initiative, and Restaurant Reuse to include all Cape towns.

Coverage of our activities can be found on our News page.