Swampscott Special Town Meeting Set For December

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott town meeting members will have a say over the future of plastic forks, plates and single-use condiment packets in the town as one of the articles on the warrant of the special town meeting set for Dec. 11.

The town meeting will be at Swampscott High School at 7 p.m.

The warrant, as opened and closed by the Select Board last week, includes the appropriation of grants and the transfer of so-called "free cash" to help stabilize the tax burden on residents, as well as the proposed plastic container restriction designed to "assist in reducing the food service ware and accessories that are not compostable, recyclable, or reusable."

The plastic "ban" was originally proposed for last spring's annual town meeting, but pulled from the warrant so that the Solid Waste Advisory Committee could put forth a more comprehensive plan. The latest proposal is modified to include a ban on certain "non-recyclable" plastics and the directive that restaurants provide single-use utensils and condiments on request.

Under the proposal, which can be found in full here, restaurants will be able to continue to use plastics deemed "highly recyclable" as well as other items made from recyclable material as long as recycling receptacles are available on-site and the establishment contracts for recycling services, and those items are not the color black.

Restaurants may provide single-use utensils and condiment containers — typically foil-based — only upon request. Single-use plastic straws are already banned in Swampscott.

Styrofoam and other non-recyclable plastic items would be prohibited.

The new bylaw would apply to food prepared on-site and not to stores selling pre-packaged items. Exemptions could be made for "hardship" cases where there is no alternative packaging available, pharmacy containers and items distributed during a public emergency.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)