Black Plastic Ban a Go For Town Meeting

March 26, 2025
• In a 3-2 vote, the Select Board approved the inclusion of a proposed black plastic ban on this spring’s warrant, along with the Skip the Stuff initiative.

Despite pushback from two members of the board, two sustainability-minded articles are officially on the Special Town Meeting warrant. The board finalized warrants for both the Special Town Meeting starting May 12 and the Annual Town Meeting starting May 5.

The black plastic ban and Skip the Stuff both regulate restaurants. If approved, the ban would restrict restaurants from using black plastic takeout containers, which are not recyclable and reputed to pose health concerns. Skip the Stuff means restaurants will only include certain takeout items upon customer request, such as plastic utensils and napkins.

Instead of introducing the efforts as citizens petitions, advocacy group Green Needham chose instead to seek the board’s sponsorship. Representatives from the business community vocally opposed the black plastic ban during a public hearing.

Member Cathy Dowd advocated for the ban’s inclusion, saying that, though there are valid concerns about overregulation and financial uncertainty, she has “great faith in the wisdom of Town Meeting.”

“I also have great respect for Town Meeting as a deliberative body, and I don’t think things need to be a slam dunk to go to Town Meeting,” Dowd said. “I think that Town Meeting is not a rubber stamp, and Town Meeting thinks about things and debates things and votes on things.”

Residents seem largely supportive of the proposal, Dowd said, and she noted associated health risks with black plastic.

Josh Levy and Marianne Cooley opposed both measures. Because the board has yet to discuss other aspects of Skip the Stuff — which similarly regulates food-ordering platforms and sit-down restaurants — Levy suggested they further discuss the measure and bring it to a town-wide vote at a later date.

For that reason, Levy inquired about amending the article to remove those two terms, but Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick said it’s unclear if those items are separable, suggesting a motion be made on the floor of Town Meeting to amend it.

Regardless of the type of plastic, Cooley said it may not be the town’s responsibility “to nanny state,” and technology is evolving to possibly allow black plastic to be recycled in the future.

On Skip the Stuff, she said it’s “a common sense issue that we are legislating.”

“It just feels like, to me, we are piling layer on, layer on, layer on something that should be simple,” Cooley said, “and we’re proceeding to make it complex.”

Some businesses signaled a regulation would actually be welcome, since they’d have a regulation to fall back on should they receive pushback from customers, Dowd said. Levy, in response, said the board would hear those complaints in turn.

Levy and Cooley opposed Skip the Stuff initiative, with Dowd, Vice Chair Heidi Frail and Chair Kevin Keane voting in the affirmative. On a motion to remove black plastic from the warrant, Levy and Cooley were the only votes in favor, meaning the article stayed on the warrant.

Town Meeting members will vote on the issues at its Special Town Meeting. Other changes to the warrant include the removal of the Affordable Housing Abatement, which Fitzpatrick said “is not quite ready,” as well as an unpaid bill.

Frail said the board could examine general recyclables and asked the topic be included on their goal list.

The board also finalized its Spring Town Meeting warrant with some minor and major tweaks. A $3.5 million allocation for the Quiet Zone construction may likely be pulled, at Fitzpatrick’s discretion, because the updated cost is currently uncertain. The MBTA will require Needham to update its equipment, which is a cost driver, Cooley said. Because the funding comes from borrowing, Fitzpartick said the allocation cannot be amended during Town Meeting.

The article’s removal would not, however, impact the timeline of the project, Cooley said. The design, along with the borrowing allotment, will likely make it to an October Town Meeting, Fitzpatrick said.

“We actually think the fall might be advantageous from a bidding time versus bidding in the spring,” Cooley said, “but we’ll have to see.”