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A tragic beginning

The campaign to ban toxic flame retardants in Massachusetts started in January 2013 when Senator Cynthia Stone Creem filed the first version of the bill to ban toxic flame retardants. We knew we needed a strong coalition for it to become law. So when environmental groups and firefighter unions across the country were teaming up to co-host local “Give Toxics the Boot”events in early 2014, we signed up. The events included press conferences with firefighters’ boots lined up on statehouse steps to represent those who died “with their boots off”—from occupational illness—and a

All across the internet and throughout holiday conversations, everyone seems to be talking about what an awful year 2016 was. Between celebrity deaths and the election of Donald Trump, it definitely had some real black strikes against it. But as I’m looking back on the accomplishments of Clean Water Action in Massachusetts, I’m finding some real reasons to celebrate as well.

Here’s a reminder of some of 2016’s better moments!

The Massachusetts legislature passed a comprehensive energy bill that included guaranteed purchase of 1600 megawatts of offshore wind (the largest amount in the US)

This past Tuesday, December 13, Boston City Council hosted a public hearing to address a proposed "bring your own bag" ordinance seeking to reduce waste from plastic bags. Unimaginable numbers of plastic bags are used daily, for an average of 12 minutes before they are discarded. Unfortunately, less than 5% of single-use plastic bags are in fact recycled. Many people do not know how to deal with plastic bags. Really the only option for consumers is a bin in the occasional grocery store. But, like I said, only 5% of these bags ever make it to a recycling center.

The other 95% of plastic bags