Loud Voice In Tewksbury Plastic Bag Ban Debate Lives In Franklin

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury Town Meeting is expected to vote on a warrant article Wednesday and decide whether or not the town will repeal its recently-enacted plastic shopping bag ban. The debate has been heated on social media and one of the most frequent commenters on Facebook groups for Tewksbury residents, as well as articles published by Patch and other media outlets, has been Theresa Auciello Shea, a resident of Franklin and a member of that town's Republican Town Committee.

Patch has asked Shea to comment and will update this story if we hear back from her. In several of her posts, she targeted Brad Verter, founder of the Boston-based Mass Green Network and vocal supporter of a statewide plastic bag ban, as well as local initiatives like the one in Tewksbury.

"I spent 9 months on this subject I research it and in my town of 32,000 I fought it. I went up against brad verter and his little posse...and I won!!!" Shea wrote on a Facebook page for supporters of the repeal. "The council said I was the only one who came with the answers..they came with [expletive deleted] and fake stories."

The Facebook group where Shea has made most of her comments said it is operated by a group of residents who support "repealing the plastic bag ban put into effect April 1, 2019." The phone number listed on the "about" page is the same number as one used as a contact number for the Tewksbury Republican Committee.

It's not clear what ties, if any, Shea has to the plastics industry. But it's not the first time Shea has jumped into the plastic bag ban debate. In 2016, she was a vocal critic when the Franklin was considering a ban. Shea spoke out at a meeting where the Franklin Economic Development Committee ended up unanimously shooting down the ban. She has commented on news articles about a statewide ban, and was critical of a Change.org petition started by city of Boston students calling on Mayor Martin Walsh to support a plastic bag ban.

"No study has been conducted to indicate that plastic bags are a nuisance in the Boston. This is not about bags as much as taxes," Shea wrote in the comment section of the Change.org petition last year. "We have Recycle and Litter laws use them. this is all a tax nothing to do with environment."

Tewksbury passed the plastic bag ban, which went into effect earlier this year, at last fall's town meeting. A citizen petition got Article 28, which would repeal the new rules, on the warrant. Town Meeting enters its third night Wednesday, when Article 28 is expected to be decided.

More than 100 Massachusetts communities have banned the single-use, plastic shopping bags that have been a staple of the grocery industry for a generation. Like other communities, Tewksbury's ban prohibits stores from giving out the bags, prompting stores to use paper bags while encouraging shoppers to bring resuabale shopping bags. The bans do not apply to plastic bags used for produce and other perishables.

Opponents of the bag ban say it is ineffective in fighting litter and puts a burden on older shoppers, who rely on the handles built into the plastic shopping bags.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).