Wellesley Declares January 'Bring Your Own Bag' Month

WELLESLEY, MA — Wellesley declared January is "Bring Your Own Bag" month to remind residents of the environmental benefits of bringing re-usable bags when they shop. This is the third year in a row the town has promoted BYO Bag month.

In the past three years, Wellesley's plastic bag regulations, which went into effect in 2017, have helped remove about 10.7 million plastic bags from our local waste stream —based on average use of 128 bags per person per year for the past three years.

In a statement to the community, the town said "Our parks, yards and bodies of water are noticeably cleaner, and the Town's Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF) no longer struggles with plastic bag-related equipment malfunctions."

Throughout the month, the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) will be working with local volunteers to promote the declaration.

Look for new re-usable bags that will be handed out in the community with suggestions from Wellesley Girl Scouts on reducing waste in Wellesley.

Currently more than 120 municipalities in the Commonwealth have plastic bag regulations and a bill to create a statewide ban on all carry-out plastic bags from stores has emerged from the Massachusetts Senate