Please be aware that on March 19, 2022 the Annual Town Meeting in the Town of Westborough voted to approve changes to Article 33 in the Town of Westborough’s General Bylaws, which is the Plastic Bag Reduction Bylaw. This bylaw aims to protect the Town’s unique natural beauty and its water and natural resources by eliminating single-use plastic checkout bags and to promote the use of reusable bags. As a reminder, this bylaw prohibits thin-film single-use plastic bags for distribution, use, or sale for checkout or other purposes at any retail or grocery store within Westborough. It requires that if a store does provide or sell checkout bags to customers, the bags must be either recyclable paper bags or reusable checkout bags.
Beginning on June 20, 2022, the following changes to this bylaw will take effect:
Reusable checkout bag has been redefined: Previously, reusable checkout bags had been defined as bags with handles specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse and that are of either polyester, polypropylene, cotton or other durable material, or durable plastic at least 4.0 Mils thick. As of June 20, 2022, reusable plastic bags shall mean, “a bag with handles that is specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse and is 100% post-consumer material or biodegradable.” Additionally, biodegradable is defined as “toxin free and capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.”
No checkout bags may be offered for free: Previously, grocery or retail stores had the option to charge for bags provided to customers. As of June 20, 2022, “All checkout bags offered at retail and grocery stores must have a charge of at least ten cents. No checkout bags, whether reusable or paper, are allowed to be given out for free.” Although the charge is required, it will not be collected by the Town of Westborough and is for the retail and grocery stores to keep.
In summary, beginning on June 20, 2022, all grocery and retail stores offering checkout bags to customers will need to charge at least ten cents for them, and those bags must be either recyclable paper bags or reusable bags made from 100% post-consumer material or that are biodegradable.
The enforcement authority for this bylaw is the Westborough Select Board, and your business may request an exemption to these changes for a period of up to six months if you have good reason to do so, such as undue hardship or requiring additional time to draw down an existing inventory of non-compliant checkout bags. If you would like to request an exemption, then please email Cela Dorr in the Select Board’s office at cdorr@town.westborough.ma.us explaining the reason for your request.
If you have any questions about the changes to the Plastic Bag Reduction Bylaw, please contact the Community Development Department. You may also attend an information session on these changes, which will be held on Wednesday, May 25th, at 5:00PM at the Forbes Municipal Building in the Great Hall on the second floor.
