Franklin County has for decades been at the forefront of the environmental movement, promoting everything from alternative energy production, energy conservation, watershed cleanup to recycling and re-use.
As the county seat, Greenfield has been a part of these regional efforts, although not always a leader. Often the city has followed the leader, whether the regional council of governments or nonprofits like the Connecticut River Conservancy, or its neighboring communities like Athol in the North Quabbin area or Amherst or Northampton to the south. This may be because Greenfield is large enough and proud enough to go its own way, and maybe because some of its residents — and some their elected leaders — are a tad more conservative than those in many of the outlying towns.
Nonetheless, it was still a bit of a surprise that after Greenfield rejected a proposal to ban single-use thin-film plastic bags about three years ago, that Athol, not the most liberal of communities in western Mass., did ban retail use of such bags, joining forward-leaning communities like Amherst and Northampton.
Athol’s bylaw notes the production and use of thin-film, single-use plastic checkout bags have significant impacts on the environment, including: contributing to the potential death of aquatic animals and other wildlife through ingestion and entanglement; contributing to pollution of the land environment; creating a burden to solid waste collection and recycling facilities; clogging storm drainage systems; and requiring the use of millions of barrels of crude oil nationally for their production.
Greenfield does offer access to “green” electricity to its residents and it hosts a solar farm on its former landfill, and Greenfield was in the first group of Massachusetts communities in 2010 to win the “Green Community” designation from the state by promising to cut municipal electricity use and by promoting solar and wind power within its borders, for example. It adopted a “sustainable master plan” that promotes many green, energy conserving measures as a government and encourages individuals to do the same.
And now Greenfield must decide if it wants to live up to its name it yet another way, by following the lead of Athol.
Next month, the City Council will have a third go at the plastic bag ban, an environmental law in which both its more conservative and more liberal neighbors have seen value.
Last week the City Council voted on a bag ban, but fell one vote short, disappointing those who argue Greenfield should more rigorously live up to its name.
Because of a parliamentary move by one of the councilors who voted against the ban last week, but who now says he actually favors the ban, the City Council will likely revisit the plastic bags next month. If other votes don’t change in the meanwhile, that will create a tie on the 13-member council — a tie that would likely broken by council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud, who supports the ban.
Then, Greenfield – even if it hasn’t been out front on this particular issue – will at least be following the lead of its closest neighbors who have committed to one more green change in how we treat our environment.