We are learning more about the dangers of plastic in the environment, most recently in alarming reports of microplastics in human brains. Our day-to-day existence is completely entangled with plastic — from packaging, bottled water, toys and building materials to automobiles and electronics.

In spite of earnest efforts by the public to recycle, 92% of plastics are not recycled. We need strong legislation to move us toward a more sustainable way of living.

Gov. Maura Healey and her staff are currently crafting the 2025 Environmental Bond Bill, which will fund important initiatives for the next five years. The bill may be one of the first taken up by the Legislature. We have the opportunity to include language in the Environmental Bond Bill that will significantly impact plastic pollution in the Commonwealth.

Please contact Healey (mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office#contact) and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper (env.internet@mass.gov) to support language from these three bills (there are similar bills currently in the Senate):HD 3764, An Act to Update the Bottle Bill; HD 2792, An Act to Reduce Polystyrene in the Environment; and HD 3831, An Act Relative to Plastic Bag Reduction.

It’s important for Massachusetts to make meaningful environmental progress now, and not wait for some future administration in Washington. We can do it!

Lou Peugh

Member of the Unitarian Society’s Climate Action Group, Florence