WESTFIELD – Three Westfield University seniors presented the research from their senior capstone project to the City Council Thursday evening at the invitation of Ward 1 Councilor Mary Ann Babinski. Michele Brooks, Michelle Coombs and Caleb Alvord each addressed the Council on their proposal for a plastic bag ban in Westfield.
The students said 26 towns in Massachusetts have a single use plastic bag ban, including Northampton, Greenfield, and one currently being proposed in Pittsfield. They said the bags are made of toxic polyethelene, and inevitably get into the water and waste stream, and into the food chain. The plastic bags also wreak havoc on the recycling stream.
The students did a survey with business owners in Northampton, which passed its ban effective in January. The majority of businesses said there were few complaints from customers, and no effect on store sales.
They also spent weekends in April outside of the Westfield Athenaeum educating residents about the hazards of plastic bags in the environment, and collecting signatures for a citizen petition in support of a ban. To draw attention, Coombs wore a Bag Monster costume. They collected 100 signatures at the library, and 50 more online through social media.
The students said most people they spoke with expressed their support and were excited about their efforts. The main objection they heard was that government should not be involved in the matter.
At the end of their presentation, the students asked the City Council to refer their proposal to the Public Health and Safety Committee. Following the presentation, Babinski, who serves on that committee, congratulated the students on their thorough report, and made the motion to refer it to the committee for consideration. The motion passed.
The idea for the project began last summer when Michele Brooks served as an intern at the Sierra Club.
“Once I found out these bags are linked to fossil fuels, that’s what was alarming to me,” she said.
Marijoan Bull, professor of geography and regional planning, then presented the idea of a team project to the students, who were all taking her environmental science and regional planning class. Brooks said having a team worked very well.
“I never would have been able to do as much on my own,” she said.
Bull, who came to the Council meeting in support of her students, was excited about the project as well.
“They are amazing – very committed, very smart, very thorough in their approach. They really show what’s wonderful about this generation,” she said.
Babinski and the students are also sponsoring a viewing of the award-winning documentary “Bag It,” in the Lang Auditorium at the Atheneaum on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. The movie looks at Americans’ use of 60,000 plastic bags every five minutes, disposable bags that they throw away without much thought. The movie asks where is “away?” Where do the bags and other plastics end up, and at what cost to the environment, marine life and human health?
