Charge for Single-Use Bags in Sudbury!

The article authorizes the Sudbury Select Board to petition the Massachusetts General Court for a special law establishing a minimum 10-cent charge for all new checkout bags distributed in Town. The special law needs to be passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor to go into effect. For more details about this article, please email campaigns@ma.surfrider.org.

Volunteers from the Chapter worked closely alongside volunteers from Sustainable Sudbury and the Lincoln-Sudbury High School Environmental Club. The chapter drafted petition language and enough signatures were collected ahead of the 1/31/2020 deadline to ensure inclusion of the proposed article in the town meeting warrant as Article 56.

A presentation was made to the Sudbury Board of Health on 1/14/2020, and on 2/11/2020 the Board of Health officially voted to endorse the article.

The campaign team then gave a presentation to the Sudbury Select Board virtually on 3/31/2020 (in light of COVID-19). The Select Board voted 4-1 to support this Article. 

In lieu of a full presentation at town meeting, MA Chapter Vice Chair, Alex Vai, pre-recorded a presentation supporting this bag charge authorization with Sudbury TV on Friday, August 21, 2020. 

Extensive outreach efforts in town were advanced before the Town Meeting, which was held on September 12. Townspeople voted by well more than a majority to pass, along with the proposed polystyrene and straw bylaws, as Articles 55 and 57, respectively. 

The next step is for the MA Chapter and other proponents to continue working with Sudbury’s Select Board and elected state representatives to advance the proposed special law through the state legislature. Broader outreach efforts will also take place to highlight this as a one way for residents of other towns in Massachusetts to publicly indicate their support for bag charges and to move towards establishing this policy in their own community.

Sudbury residents are urged to contact the MA Chapter to get involved with similar efforts elsewhere, and to learn more about the complex issues surrounding local bag fees in the State of Massachusetts. 

For more information on why fees are so important, check out our plastic bag toolkit.

Thank you!