July 16, 2018 — The Massachusetts Senate went on record again in favor of a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags with sponsors pointing to the harm such bags have done to whales.
The Senate then rejected a proposal that Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester said was intended to reduce the risk of sea mammal entanglement.
Debating an environmental bond bill Thursday, the Senate adopted a Sen. Jamie Eldridge amendment to ban stores from providing single-use carryout bags to customers at the point of sale starting in August 2019. Speaking on the amendment, Eldridge mentioned a whale that died in Thailand in June and was found to have 80 plastic bags in its stomach.
“There is no need for our sea life or wildlife to have such an ending of their lives,” Eldridge said.
Sen. Cynthia Creem also spoke in favor of the amendment, holding up a photo of a whale and pointing senators to the internet to find examples of other animals dying as a result of plastic bag waste.
“If we care not only about our environment but we care about those that live in the ocean and we care about our children and our future, we cannot have these plastic bags strewn around,” Creem said.