Sustainable Practices July 2021: Overview

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Plastic bottles are a by-product of the fossil fuel industry; they do not biodegrade and can last forever. Their production emits toxic waste into the air, and chemicals from plastic can leach into our beverages. After plastics are discarded, they pollute the air via incineration, contaminate groundwater through landfills, as well as harm to our oceans, beaches, roadways, and wildlife. Recycling is of little help and does not eliminate or reduce our dependence on plastic.  The hazardous effects of plastics are far more costly than indicated by price. They affect our immediate and long-term well-being. 

After successful passage of the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban in five Cape towns in the spring of 2019: Provincetown, Wellfleet, Harwich, Chatham, and Orleans, Sustainable Practices continued the campaign to reduce municipal plastic waste, adding  Brewster, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Sandwich, and Yarmouth to the list of towns that have adopted the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban by year-end 2019. As of year-end 2020, both Barnstable and Mashpee have adopted the Municipal Ban, for a total of 13 towns. Bourne and Truro adopted the Ban in spring 2021 at their respective town meetings, taking the Municipal Ban to an all-Cape Ban with 15 of 15 towns having it in effect.

The Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban addresses single-use plastic by eliminating purchase of single-use plastic bottled beverages by town governments and prohibiting the sale of beverages in  single-use plastic containers on town property. We are actively engaged with towns to promote alternatives to plastic and are primarily focused on behavioral change in favor of reusable containers.

Recent news coverage highlighting our Cape activities can be found on Our News page.