Message from the Mayor: the plastic bag and styrofoam ban Fellow Residents, We are in the midst of rolling out the plastic bag and Styrofoam container ban. This law asks a little of everyone in the village – and I wanted to set here some context to explain why we passed the law. The ban was passed last summer on the recommendation of the Conservation Committee and after well-attended public comment. It seeks to address a littering problem, as well as reflect a concern about larger environmental issues of waste, plastics in our environment, a disposable culture, ocean and air pollution (when they are incinerated) and more. We are not the first to ban or tax plastic bags – Larchmont, Mamaroneck Village and the City of Rye have done so, as has San Francisco, a number of other cities, and most of Europe. Nor will we be the last. The Board acted here, as it has in the past, because these seemingly little steps matter. I believe they reflect this community’s standards and deepening commitment to sustainability. In isolation, of course, we can’t and won’t solve the world’s problems. But neither do we need to wait for those at higher levels of government to lead on these issues. We can – and I believe must - do so ourselves as a reflection of who we are and what we want our world to be. Hastings has a proud tradition of leading on issues of conservation and sustainability. This history is more than a point of pride: it is a vital part of who we are. Highlights include: • In the 1969, Fred Danback sued Anaconda, the past owner of much of our industrial waterfront, to stop dumping toxic waste into the Hudson. He successfully won a then unprecedented $200,000 and the monies were used to fund the creation of the Riverkeeper organization that proved a model for local oversight of environmental resources for the entire nation. (The current president of Riverkeeper lives here in Hastings.) The lawsuit ultimately inspired the creation of a number of advocacy organizations that used legal and legislative levers to effect huge change. • We were early adopters of recycling nearly three decades ago, and for years led Westchester in our recycling rates. People complained when it was first implemented, but it soon became second nature and we now do it as a matter of course. We’re no longer consistently number one in Westchester, but that’s because many other communities caught up with us. • We were concerned early on about open space and have set aside more green space, proportionate to our size than other communities in southern Westchester, including the hundred acres of Hillside only twenty five years ago that almost became condominiums. • We were one of the first communities to pass a resolution condemning fracking out of concern on how it would potentially affect our drinking supplies. The support of a fracking ban has snowballed since, and last month, Governor Cuomo banned it state-wide. • We also passed a resolution to demand careful examination of safety at Indian Point because we’re downstream from an unspeakable cataclysm if their creaky systems failed. Those concerns are now being voiced by the State and we may see that plant face stiffer controls or even closure. • We passed a green building code in 2013, one of the first of its sort in the northeast, that innovatively encourages cost-effective and sustainable building techniques. New York State is now reviewing existing building codes, looking to do what we have already done. • We are engaged in an experiment to see if we can sustainably control the deer population in our dense environment so the property damage and impact on the woods can be mitigated. The results here won’t be clear for five years, but there are two possible outcomes: we will pioneer a successful method that will be eagerly copied by hundreds of communities nationwide, or we will fail and, well, so we tried. No shame in that. The bag and styrofoam ban is set in this fifty-year context of activism and connection to our community, each other and the environment around us. Cynics will respond that the law makes no real difference and imposes an inconvenience. I will state emphatically that the cynics are wrong. This law will reduce litter. It will encourage the use of reusable bags and lower waste. It will model behavior for our children. And just as importantly, it reflects our community tradition and value of leading on these issues. We care… even about what seem to be little things (but really aren’t). There will be a period of adaptation. Bringing a bunch of bags to the A&P seems a bother now. But it will come to be the norm for us, like recycling now is. And other communities will see that, in fact, it isn’t a big deal and adopt their own bans, and this is how these values spread and become the new normal. Don’t believe it? Why do you think we are being sued by a trade group for supermarkets and large grocery stores? They know that this is~exactly~what happens, that they’re fighting a rear-guard action here, and the only way their parent corporations can win is by intimidating the little guys who try to make the little changes that are, in the end, not so little. I don’t believe we will single-handedly change the world on this issue or any other issue. I also don’t believe that ignoring your values and doing nothing is an option. Change is hard. We understand that. But so is a future where communities like ours don’t change and fail to lead on lowering levels of waste and pollution and pointless consumption that we have allowed to creep into and dominate our society. Thank you for your time, and the effort it will take to adapt to this change in your daily routine. There will be emails in the next few days about implementation details about this law. And if you have questions or concerns, you can always write me or any of the trustees directly. Sincerely, Peter Swiderski Mayor [email protected] Click here for the Hastings Conservation Commissions Frequently Asked Questions about the Plastic Bag & Styrofoam Law hastingsgov.org/Pages/HastingsNY_BComm/Conservation/PBS_FAQ
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 02:13:14 +0000
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