A new ordinance took effect in Somerville on Sept. 1 prohibiting commercial businesses in the city from giving single-use plastic bags to customers at checkout.
Businesses will now provide paper bags instead of plastic ones, and customers are greatly encouraged to use reusable bags, Jaclyn Rossetti, Somerville's deputy director of communications, said on behalf of the members of her department.
“We encourage everyone to be mindful of their own carbon footprint,” Rossetti told the Daily in an email.
Larger stores with more than 10,000 square feet of floor space have had to abide by the ordinance since the beginning of the month, while all other trade establishments have until Dec. 1 to adhere to the law, she explained.
According to Rossetti, Target, Stop & Shop and Star Market are a few of the large businesses initially affected. Larger businesses have an earlier deadline due to the fact that many of the larger stores are national chains which have had experience complying with similar ordinances elsewhere, she said.
“We wanted to make the transition as easy as possible for business owners and thought that giving the smaller businesses more time to use their current supply of bags and plan for compliance would be the best way to do that,” Rossetti said.
The ordinance applies to all of Somerville’s businesses, including those on the Tufts campus, she added.
According to Tufts University Bookstore Manager Boon Teo, the bookstore supports the ordinance and is working to comply with its rules.
“While our physical address is in Medford, many of our building licenses and permits come from the city of Somerville," Teo told the Daily in an email. "Given this, and both the campus and Barnes & Noble College’s dedication to environmentally [friendly] products, we are working on finding an alternative to plastic bags.”
The Tufts Bookstore has begun the process of phasing out plastic bags, but is still working out the timeline to find a good replacement, according to Teo.
“The Bookstore, having the pleasure to be part of such an environmentally conscious campus and company… wholly supports this initiative," Teo said. "For us, it is just a matter of finding a bag that can hold the weight of textbooks. In the meantime, we do offer reusable bags for just $0.89 in the store.”
Tufts Sustainability Collective’s (TSC) co-president Mary-Paule Monks explained the importance of the Tufts Bookstore’s commitment to environmentally friendly practices and compliance with the ordinance.
“The Tufts Bookstore is the face of Tufts for many people… it’s also just the way that we sell our culture here as a university, and what we value is put into the bookstore,” Monks, a sophomore, said.
Monks also noted that even though the bookstore is just one business, its example has the potential to influence others.
“This is the way that we present the Tufts identity to the rest of the world by selling our merchandise," she said. "It is just one bookstore, but the Tufts Bookstore serves a large community,” she said.
Monks said that the plastic bag ordinance will be a definite topic of conversation in the upcoming TSC meetings. She noted that Tufts' practices can have an influence on the surrounding communities.
“It’s definitely important to [TSC] that Tufts, the university, collaborates with both Medford and Somerville because our waste has such an impact on its waterways and I know that’s one of the reasons that they were trying to get rid of the plastic bags," she said. "If we show our support of this legislation and really just actively promote reusable bags and recycling the paper ones that are also offered as an option, that definitely sets a good example for the community and creates a large incentive for businesses to start really complying.”
Rossetti also greatly encouraged the Tufts community to become involved with sustainability within the city.
“We’re starting to ramp up the community engagement side of things there and would love to have Tufts students participate in some of the upcoming events,” she added.
Somerville ordinance bans plastic bags in retail businesses
