Stormy weather prompts me to run around and gather cut flowers that might be pummeled in a heavy rainstorm. Peony and poppy flowers often shatter in heavy rain.
These refill stations are extremely hygienic, as no skin or mouth contact is needed to refill your bottle. The units will be owned and maintained by the town.
In her letter to the editor, Marcia Arland writes: “Plastic is cheap to produce and convenient. But what is not figured into this equation is the overall cost to consumers, communities, the environment.”
Rome was not built in a day. Banning the sale of single-use plastic bottles is a start. It builds the momentum begun by Concord, and creates a model for other towns to emulate.
While a long list of businesses and other organizations said they supported the new bylaw, it did not sit did well with a number of other merchants, who felt the ban would harm their businesses or who objected on the grounds of legislative overreach.
What started off as a civic exercise turned into a lesson in how a righteous cause can gather steam, convince fence-sitters, transition to a generational issue and overwhelm the opposition.
Forty businesses and organizations have signed off on the Great Barrington proposal. There are some high-profile businesses on the list, including Guido’s, Prairie Whale and Soco. Most recently the Berkshire Co-op Market came on board.
If it passes at town meeting, the GB On Tap program intends to provide additional drinking fountains and bottle refilling stations throughout town. In addition, it will help participating merchants and restaurants offer refillable water bottles for sale.
