1. Bradford Verter, Founder, Mass Green Network
  2. Carolyn Barthel, Steering Team, 350 Massachusetts for a Better Future
  3. Carrie Montgomery, Vice President of Programs, Action Together Massachusetts
  4. Elizabeth Saunders, Massachusetts Director, Clean Water Action
  5. Christopher Chin, Executive Director, Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE)
  6. Grady McGonagill, Founder, Elders Climate Action
  7. Elizabeth Turnbull Henry, President, Environmental League of Massachusetts 
  8. Joe O'Brien, Executive Director, Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund
  9. Madison Young, Outreach Committee, Green-Rainbow Party
  10. Stephanie Harris, Massachusetts Director, Humane Society of the United States
  11. Cindy Rowe, Executive Director, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA)
  12. Neil Rhein, Executive Director, Keep Massachusetts Beautiful
  13. Jack Clarke, Director of Advocacy, Mass Audubon
  14. Margo Simon Golden, Board President, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition
  15. Katherine K. Macdonald, President, Massachusetts Horticultural Society
  16. Gabby Queenan, Policy Director, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
  17. Laura Hagen, Deputy Director, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA)
  18. Jen Boudrie, Director, Massachusetts Sustainable Communities & Campuses Conference
  19. Theresa Soldan, Chair, MASSPIRG Students
  20. Carol "Krill" Carson, President, New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance
  21. Marty Dagoberto, Massachusetts Outreach Coordinator, Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)
  22. Iain Kerr, CEO, Ocean Alliance
  23. Dianna Cohen, CEO and Founder, Plastic Pollution Coalition
  24. Jonathan Cohn, Chair, Issues Committee, Progressive Massachusetts
  25. Jardayna Laurent, Chair, Surfrider Foundation, Massachusetts Chapter
  26. Sylvia Broude, Executive Director, Toxics Action Center Campaigns
  27. Jamie Rhodes, Program Director, Upstream
  28. Regina Asmutis-Silvia, Executive Director, Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC)
  29. Barbara Burgess, Co-Founder, Women Working for Oceans
  30. John J. Linehan, President & CEO, Zoo New England: Franklin Park Zoo & Stone Zoo
  31. Al Blake, Coordinator, 350 MA – Berkshires
  32. Lisa Coedy, Coordinator, 350 MA -- Cape Cod
  33. Laura Whelan-Bratsis, Community Outreach, Action Together Walpole
  34. Nancy Dayian, Working Group Leader, Action Together Western Norfolk County
  35. Emma Stamas, Environmental Justice Group, All Souls UU Greenfield
  36. Camilo Ferro, Representative, American Compostables Alliance
  37. Sara Brown, Representative, Amherst Recycling and Refuse Management Committee
  38. Selen Aktar, Board Member, Andover Green Advisory Board
  39. David Bunting, Chairman, Andover Trails Committee
  40. Amy Smith, Co-founder, Andover BYOBag!
  41. Sarah Freeman, Representative, Arborway Coalition
  42. Michaelann Bewsee, Director, ARISE for Social Justice
  43. Margie Herley, Chairperson, Arlington Street Church Social Action Committee
  44. Julia Chase, President, Board of Directors, Ashland Farmers Market
  45. Matthew Marshquist, Chairperson, Ashland Sustainability Committee
  46. John R Pelletier, Owner, Ashmont Cycles
  47. Heather Rockwell, Director of Operations, Barnstable Clean Water Coalition
  48. Mary Lou Nicholson, Volunteer Coordinator, Be the Solution to Pollution, New Bedford
  49. Dorie Stolley, Coordinator, Beach Ambassadors
  50. Patricia Tully, Executive Director, Beacon Hill Civic Association
  51. Leslie Adam, Conservation Chair, Beacon Hill Garden Club
  52. Alvin Blake, Chair, Becket Energy Committee
  53. Terese Hammerle, Member, Belmont Bag Ban Group
  54. Jane Winn, Executive Director, Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT)
  55. Rinaldo Del Gallo, Spokesperson, Berkshire Green
  56. Marcia Arland, Environment Committee, Berkshire Women's Action Group
  57. Ray Pfau, Treasurer, Bolton Local
  58. Cathy DiPilato, Owner, B-Organic
  59. Vienna Rothberg, Co-founder, Boston Boomerang Bags
  60. Katherine F. Abbott, President and CEO, Boston Harbor Now
  61. Cate Arnold, Faculty Advisor, Boston Latin School Youth Climate Action Network
  62. Heather DiPaolo, Chair, Bourne Recycling Committee
  63. Pat Neary, Representative, Bridgewater Green Commission
  64. Reya Al-Khalili, Coordinator, Bring Your Own Bag Beverly
  65. Mary Grady, Representative, BYOB BostonB
  66. Brigitte Griffin, Representative, BYOB Framingham
  67. Joyce Greif, Representative, BYOB Lexington
  68. Richard Coleman, Coordinator, BYOB Westford
  69. Harriet Korim, Representative, Cape Cool
  70. Sheila Place, Chairperson, Cape Environmental Action
  71. Jill Talladay, Executive Director, CARE for the Cape & Islands
  72. Lor Holmes, General Manager, CERO Cooperative
  73. Robert Zimmerman, Executive Director, Charles River Watershed Association
  74. Nancy Lee Wood, Representative, Citizens for an Informed Community, West Bridgewater
  75. Carol Robinson, Campaign Coordinator, Citizens for Plastic Bag Reduction
  76. Sheila Taintor, Organizer, Citizens for Sustainable Bagging, Newburyport
  77. Sierra Rothberg, Director, Clean Up Boston
  78. Martha Nathan, Steering Committee, Climate Action NOW
  79. Andrea Donlon, River Steward, Connecticut River Conservancy
  80. Nora Bicki, President, Don't Trash Wareham
  81. Kristine Acevedo, Representative, Dorchester People for Peace
  82. Marjorie Wexler, Clerk, Egremont Land Trust
  83. Michael Nichols, Executive Director, Esplanade Association, Boston
  84. Megan Hayes and Kimberly Reilly, Co-Founders, Everybody's Water, Cohasset
  85. Deirdre Healy, Chair, Fairhaven Sustainability Committee
  86. Eleanor Santos, Representative, Environmental Justice Team, First Church of Christ, Longmeadow
  87. Rev. Tricia Brennan, Interim Minister, First Parish Dorchester
  88. Anne Zasloff, Environmental Organizer, ForwardMA
  89. Carina Campobasso, Representative, Friends of Belle Isle Marsh, Winthrop
  90. Laura Robert, President, Friends of Brookside
  91. Patricia Keck, President, Friends of Harold Parker State Forest
  92. Brian Yates, President, Friends of Hemlock Gorge
  93. Michelle Guiney, President, G Force Waste Sorters, Inc.
  94. Ann Walsh, Co-Leader, Girl Scout Troop 68277
  95. Stavan Shah, Representative, Global Activists, Burlington
  96. Ainsley Smith, Chair, Gloucester Clean City Commission
  97. Carolyn Platt, Committee Chair, Green Acton Plastics Committee
  98. Jen Boudrie, Founder, Green Marlborough
  99. Michael Greis, Chair, Green Needham
  100. Marcia Cooper, President, Green Newton
  101. Zillie Bhuju, Committee Coordinator, Green Topsfield
  102. Emily Greene, Representative, Greenfield Rights of Nature
  103. Dorothy McIver, Chair, Greening Greenfield
  104. Jessica Dils, Co-Leader, Greylock Together
  105. Gretel Clark, Representative, Hamilton Recycle Committee
  106. Lynn Nadeau, Treasurer, HealthLink
  107. Julie Johnson, Executive Director, Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Amherst
  108. Jennifer Flanagan, Chairperson, Hopkinton Board of Health
  109. Marcus Rodrigues, Secretary, Husky Environmental Action Team
  110. Dr. John Bordiuk, Director, Inner Balance Integrative Medicine
  111. Nicole Whitten, Co-Chair, Ipswich Sustainable Education
  112. Dave Bendix, Chair, Ipswich Waste Reduction Advisory Committee
  113. Pine duBois, Executive Director, Jones River Watershed Association
  114. Pat Conaway, President, Keep Natick Beautiful
  115. Gene Wyatt, Chairman, Kingston Recycling Committee
  116. Peter Hofman, Chair, Lee Greener Gateway Committee
  117. Carolyn B Butler, Chair, Lenox Environmental Committee
  118. Ricki Pappo, Chair, Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition
  119. Lin Jensen, Volunteer, Lexington Public School Green Teams
  120. Rami Alwan, Co-Advisor, Lincoln Sudbury Environmental Club
  121. Tracy Cutter, Coordinator, Littleton Better Bagging
  122. Uli Nagel, Founder, Living the Change Berkshires
  123. Jane Calvin, Executive Director, Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust
  124. LeeAnn Childress, Member, Loudon Recycling, Loudon, NH
  125. Jeanne Ryer, Coordinator, Marshfield Plastic Bag Reduction Group
  126. Elaine Kizziah, Representative, Mass Green Network – Boston
  127. Barbara Passero, Founder and Director, Meadowscaping for Biodiversity
  128. Andrea Costello, Legislative Coordinator, Medfield Recycling Committee
  129. Julie Unger, Organizer, Melrose Farmers' Market
  130. Jeana McNeil, Chair, Melrose Recycling Committee
  131. Robert Bell, President, Melville Park Neighborhood Association
  132. Peter Papesch, Co-Founder, Metro Boston 2030
  133. Melissa Guimont, Representative, Middleborough Mess Movers
  134. Jeffrey C. Stevens, Chairman, Middleborough Plastic Bag Study Group
  135. Sarah Wolozin, Director, MIT Open Documentary Lab
  136. Tina Cornell, Member, Mothers Out Front -- Northampton
  137. Staci Montori, Community Organizer, Mothers Out Front – Lincoln
  138. Rachel Adler-Golden, Team Coordinator, Mothers Out Front – Newton
  139. Patrick Merron, Executive Director, Mystic River Watershed Association
  140. Deborah Snyder, Treasurer, Natural Resources Trust of Mansfield
  141. Robert Fernandez, Chair, Needham Bag Ban Team
  142. Riley Roefaro, Representative, Needham Environmental Action Club
  143. Tim Mazanec, Representative, Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay
  144. Jessica Bregoli, Co-Chair, New Bedford Beautiful
  145. Danielle Baudrand, Founder, New Hampshire Plastic Pollution Alliance
  146. Rosemary Wessel, Co-Founder, No Fracked Gas in Mass
  147. Carol Sotiropoulos, Coordinator, No Gas Pipeline in Grafton
  148. Samantha Woods, Executive Director, North and South Rivers Watershed Association
  149. Karen Martin, Chair, North Parish Climate Justice Task Force
  150. Jennifer Carlino, Conservation Director, Norton Conservation Commission
  151. Kimberly Tobin, Board President, Old Creamery Cooperative, Cummington
  152. Jamie Mathison, Owner, One Ocean One Love
  153. Kat Jones, Executive Director, Onset Bay Association
  154. Lynn A. Coish, Team Leader, Operation Clean Sweep, New Bedford
  155. Lydia Hamnquist, Chair, Provincetown Recycling and Renewable Energy Committee
  156. Evelyn Strawn, Coordinator, Plymouth Network of Open Space Friends
  157. Jamie Banks, Executive Director, Quiet Communities
  158. Molly Ettenborough, Manager, Recycling and Energy Office, Newburyport
  159. James O. Michel, Co-founder, Resist the Pipeline
  160. Nicole Gardner and Charlo Maurer, Representatives, ReThink Plastic
  161. Christine Pierannunzi, Representative, Revere Beautification Committee
  162. Rachel Lake, Community Affairs Manager, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
  163. Patricia Gozemba, Co-Chair, Salem Alliance for the Environment
  164. Emily Flaherty, School to Sea Director, Salem Sound Coastwatch
  165. Paul Houlihan, Chair, Sandwich Green Coalition
  166. Ramesh Razdan, President, Sathya Sai Group of Greater Boston Area
  167. Ann Devlin, Director, Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment (SAVE)
  168. Eric Magers, Executive Director, Seaside Sustainability
  169. Ingrid Geis, Representative, Shop Local & BYOB, Winchester
  170. Karl Thidemann, Co-founder, Soil4Climate
  171. Melissa Eusden, Representative, Somerville Climate Action
  172. David Williams, Representative, Southbridge BYOB
  173. Verne McArthur, Steering Committee Member, Springfield Climate Justice Coalition
  174. Shelly Karlin, Representative, Stow Women's Action Network (SWAN)
  175. Janis Owens, Co-Chair, Sustainable Duxbury
  176. Lisa Scanlon, Representative, Sustainable Scituate
  177. Jessica Clay, Vice President, Sustainable Sharon Coalition
  178. Naomi Halpern, Network Leader, Sustainable Shrewsbury Citizens Network
  179. Melissa Gough, Steering Committee Member, Sustainable Sudbury
  180. Laurie Wodin & Lara Wahl, Co-Chairs, Sustainable Upton
  181. Jasmine and Robert Vogtli, Co-founders, Sustainable Wakefield
  182. Lise M Olney, Secretary, Sustainable Wellesley
  183. Gidget Batsford, Principle, Team Batsford
  184. Elizabeth Clemmey, Member, Team UP
  185. Leni Fried, Founder, The BagShare Project
  186. Laura Jasinski, Executive Director, The Charles River Conservancy
  187. Gareth Evans, Rector, The Church of the Good Shepherd, Acton
  188. John Stifler, Representative, The Paradise of Northampton Men's Reading Group
  189. Jeff Napolitano, Executive Director, The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice
  190. Joel Hariton, Coordinator, Topsfield BYOB
  191. Dick Prouty, Co-Chair, Town Green 2025
  192. Patricia Hynes, Director, Traprock Center for Peace and Justice
  193. Elizabeth Marcus, Representative, Transition Newburyport
  194. Julia Kay, Campaign Coordinator, Tyngsborough Plastic Bag Reduction
  195. Susan Starkey, Chair of Green Sanctuary Committee, Unitarian Church of Barnstable
  196. Verne McArthur, Community Liaison, Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield
  197. Christine Zadykovich, Chair, Uxbridge Recycling & Sustainability Committee
  198. Nancy L McHale, Treasurer, Wareham Land Trust, Inc.
  199. Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, President, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment
  200. Molly Faulkner, Co-founder, Wayland Schools PTO Green Team
  201. Brandon Schmitt, Director, Wellesley Natural Resources Commission
  202. Wil Breden, Co-Chair, Wellesley Village Church Environmental Ministry
  203. Lydia Vivante, Co-Chair, Wellfleet Recycling Committee
  204. Stephanie Ellis, Executive Director, Wild Care, Inc., Eastham
  205. Wendy Penner, Chairperson, Williamstown COOL Committee
  206. Tracey Hunt, Owner, Winslow's Tavern, Wellfleet
  207. Laurie Gates, Spokesperson, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Cape Cod Branch
  208. Melisa Hollenback, President, Worcester County Environmental Community Agricultural Network











We the undersigned have united to voice our enthusiastic support for bill H.4234, An Act Reducing Plastic Bag Pollution.


Once it is passed into law, the bill will make Massachusetts the second state in the nation to limit the free distribution of plastic checkout bags, a major source of litter. The bill will significantly advance the goals of the Commonwealth’s Solid Waste Master Plan, and it will bring economic benefits to our state’s businesses, consumers, and taxpayers.(Click here for a fact sheet.)

To date, 81 cities and towns in our Commonwealth have passed laws to reduce plastic waste. One in three Massachusetts residents currently lives in a municipality that has chosen to reduce plastic bags, and many more local ordinances are in the works.

As representatives of environmental and community organizations in Massachusetts, we are in agreement that H.4234 will represent an environmental landmark, not just for the Commonwealth but also for the nation, and we are united in our support for the bill as it is currently written.


 

An Open Letter in Support of the Bag Bill

Over 200 Environmental and Community Groups 

Support H.4234, An Act Reducing Plastic Bag Pollution