Shifting past plastics in Brookline
When Wendy Stahl and her family moved from California to Brookline in the middle of the pandemic last summer, she knew she was going to run into some trouble. What she didn’t expect was that her frustration had nothing to do with the weather or the winter coats, it had to do with waste.
She explained, “At Brookline, grocery stores didn’t use compostable bags. The restaurants didn’t let me use my own clean container. and plastic bags, cutlery and take-away containers are everywhere! “Stahl realized that the pandemic was a big factor, but added,” I was annoyed that our trash was growing and filled with plastic. “
Stahl recalled, “When my kids were born, I had a big moment and really turned our family away from plastics and disposables,” she added. “I had read that most of the plastics were incinerated and not recycled, and microplastics in our food supplies and even in our poop. So I approached the waste problem from home. “
Knowledge of the environmental and health effects of plastics was enough to motivate Doctor Stahl to focus on reducing waste and using as little plastic or single-use items as possible. Stahl commented, “I shopped at the farmers’ markets, bought in bulk, and put my own bags and glasses on the market.” She added, “At first it was a huge effort, but more people in the community were striving for zero waste, so local traders came on board and that made it easier. “
San Francisco’s mandatory citywide composting laws and other municipal regulations in support of zero waste also encouraged local businesses to adopt reusable practices. In fact, in 2003, San Francisco set itself the goal of reducing the amount of landfill or incinerated waste to zero by 2020. While this goal was not achieved, San Francisco is a leader in waste diversion. In 2018, the Mayor urged cities around the world to work with San Francisco to set ambitious zero-waste targets, and Boston signed as part of the C40 Cities Towards Zero-Waste Declaration (https: //www.c40.org).
In October, Stahl came across the local Brookline chapter of the environmental group Mothers Out Front, a group of mothers and allies who strive to create a livable climate for future generations (https://www.mothersoutfront.org/brookline/). . Shortly after Stahl joined the group, members Louise Bowditch and Deane Coady launched a new Zero Waste campaign aimed at system changes and legislative reforms. Stahl knew she had found a place to put her frustrations into action.
According to Bowditch, co-head of the group’s zero waste campaign, “Most people don’t know plastics are made of oil.” She said, “For our health and the climate, we need to significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The next step is to reduce waste, especially single-use plastics, through policy measures. “Deane Coady, who leads the group’s composting efforts, commented,” Brookline is making progress, but we need to move faster and focus on the bigger picture. “
As part of Brookline Mothers Out Front’s newly formed Zero Waste Campaign, Bowditch invited former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck to give a talk on June 7th entitled Moving Beyond Plastics on the dangers of plastics. In addition to serving as the regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama, Enck is the founder and president of Beyond Plastics (Beyondplastics.com) and teaches an environmental policy course at Bennington College.
“The production and disposal of plastics is possibly the biggest problem of climate change, environmental justice and water quality of our time,” says Enck. She added, “The plastics industry is crazy about the myth that we can recycle our way out of the problem, but they know the truth: only 9% of the plastic ever made has been recycled, most of the plastic cannot be recycled, and a large part plastic pollution actually comes from the process of creation. “Enck concluded,” The good news is that we can do something about it if we act now. “
Right now, Stahl is delighted to have found a local community of like-minded people, and notes, “It’s exciting to be working towards zero waste in Brookline and Massachusetts. My children are focused on the future so you may find me at the Statehouse soon to stand up for a safer and cleaner future. “
Enck will speak about Zoom on Monday, June 7th from 7pm to 8pm. The lecture is open to the public, but there are only limited places available. Register in advance at http://bit.ly/MOFBeyondPlastics.
