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Article 6
<br />To see if the Town will vote to amend the Mashpee
<br />General Bylaws as follows, or take any other action
<br />relating thereto:
<br />Chapter 126
<br />Article III
<br />Single Use Plastic Straw Ban
<br />§126-14 Purpose and Findings
<br />It has been found that:
<br />1. Plastic straws are expensive and difficult to collect
<br />or recycle.
<br />2. Mashpee's proximity to water bodies means that
<br />plastic straws that go uncollected by DPW have a high
<br />chance of ending up on the beaches or in the bays or
<br />ponds within the Town.
<br />3. Plastic straws take hundreds of years to degrade,
<br />during which time they remain hazardous to wildlife
<br />and harmful to the environment.
<br />4. There is currently a national movement to reduce
<br />and ban the use of plastic straws, making reasonable
<br />affordable alternatives increasingly available.
<br />Because Mashpee has the regulatory authority to
<br />protect the natural environment, the economy, and the
<br />health of the Town and its citizens, this Bylaw prohibits
<br />the sale or dispensing of single use plastic straws,
<br />including those made from polyethylene,
<br />polypropylene, and polystyrene, by any food
<br />establishment, retail establishment, or public venue in
<br />the Town of Mashpee.
<br />§126-15 Definitions
<br />"Plastic Straw" shall mean any single use plastic straw
<br />including but not limited to those made from
<br />polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene.
<br />"Food Establishments" shall mean any operations,
<br />including without limitation schools, farmers markets
<br />and other public venues that store, prepare, package,
<br />serve, vend or otherwise provide food for human
<br />consumption. Any establishment requiring a permit to
<br />operate in accordance with the State Sanitary Code -
<br />Minimum Sanitation Standards for Food
<br />Establishments -, 105 CMR 590.000, et. seq., shall be
<br />considered Food Establishments for the purposes of
<br />this bylaw.
<br />"Retail Establishments" shall mean any commercial
<br />business facility that sells goods directly to consumers
<br />including but not limited to grocery stores, pharmacies,
<br />liquor stores, convenience stores, retail stores and
<br />vendors sell clothing, food, and personal items, dry
<br />cleaning services theaters and all other food services
<br />establishments.
<br />"Public Venues" shall mean operations including but
<br />not limited to schools, meeting halls, churches Town
<br />offices, the Senior Center, Recreation Department
<br />facilities, and the Library.
<br />§ 126-16 Use Regulations
<br />Plastic Straws shall not be used, dispensed or sold by
<br />food establishments and/or retail establishments within
<br />the Town of Mashpee on or after July 1, 2021. Any
<br />stock remaining after that date shall be accepted for
<br />disposal free of charge, through June 30, 2021 at the
<br />Mashpee Transfer Station/Recycling Center.
<br />§126-17 Administration and Enforcement
<br />Any enforcing person shall have the right to enter any
<br />Retail Establishment or Public Venue during regular
<br />business hours, without a search or inspection warrant,
<br />to make reasonable inspection to ascertain whether
<br />there is compliance with the provisions of this Chapter.
<br />This article may be enforced by any Town police
<br />officer or agents of the Board of Health. This article
<br />may be enforced though any lawful means in law or in
<br />equity, including, but not limited to noncriminal
<br />disposition pursuant to MGL. c. 40, §21D and General
<br />Bylaws, Chapter 1, Article III, §1-3. Any establishment
<br />which violates any provision of this bylaw shall be subject
<br />to the following penalties:
<br />First Offense: $100 fine
<br />Second Offense: $200 fine
<br />Third and Subsequent
<br />Offenses: $300 fine for each offense
<br />Each day, or portion thereof, during which a violation of
<br />this Chapter occurs shall constitute a separate offense
<br />hereunder.
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