A recent article in the Gazette titled “Hadley town meeting to vote on plastic bag ban amending solar bylaws” caught our eye given we are two sixth graders working on preventing plastic pollution. The plastic bag ban is a good way to eliminate plastics from streets and waterways.
Meanwhile, our class is working to pass the Act To Expand the Bottle Bill (H.3289 and S.2149). We think this is a good solution because it would help stop single use plastics at the source, similarly to how the plastic bag ban would help prevent plastic bags from entering the waste stream.
This bill has been in motion for a long time but the Legislature has failed to pass it. While we wait, the only thing happening is the problem of plastic pollution gets worse and we need change even more desperately.
The Act To Expand the Bottle Bill would also help because it would expand the types of containers with a deposit to many more, including sports drinks and bottled water. The containers would have a deposit of 10 cents instead of 5, which would encourage people to bring their containers back to be recycled and get their deposit returned.
This will greatly increase the types of containers recycled, which will, in turn, help prevent all these plastics from getting into our oceans and streets. This will help protect and save many animals’ lives including our own, as well as helping our environment.
When we first saw this article we thought it might be an opportunity to get more people involved, which will pressure the people in power to pass The Act To Expand the Bottle Bill or H.3289/S.2149. We also want to express our thanks to Rep. Mindy Domb and Sen. Joanne Comerford for co-sponsoring this bill. It is crucial to have our local legislators support the expanded bottle bill given that it is very important if we want to help to protect the animals, people, and environment around us.
Sophie Bergan
Maggie Reilly Hogan
Amherst
The authors are sixth grade students at Fort River Elementary School.