Connecticut Town Ponders Plastic Bag, Straw Ban
DuBois Beach in Stonington. Photo by Frankie Graziano for Connecticut Public Radio
The town of Stonington is considering a move to ban all single-use plastic bags and straws. It wouldn’t be the first Connecticut town to contemplate bagging the bag — Greenwich recently passed a ban and Westport did away with them years ago.
Seattle, Washington is the only major American city that’s ditched plastic straws, and that’s happened within the last week.
The recommendation to ban bags and straws came at a recent board of selectmen meeting in Stonington. But it didn’t come from one of the selectmen. It came from a guy who calls himself the “local crank”– Stuart Schwartzstein.
“When there are issues that I think are of concern and should be of concern to a lot of people, I think raising them is a good idea,” Schwartzstein said.
Schwartzstein continued on about why he’s supporting the ban as he sat in a pavilion overlooking Stonington’s duBois Beach.
“I’m no expert on marine life,” Schwartzstein said. “What little I know is that, yes, experts say it creates damage. People have found various animals that have died when they shouldn’t have because of plastics.”