Senate in Massachusetts passes bill curtailing use of plastics including bags, straws

By MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The state Senate in Massachusetts has passed a wide-ranging bill curtailing the use of plastics, including barring the purchase of single-use plastic bottles by state agencies. The bill was approved Thursday. It also bans plastic bags and making straws and plasticware available by request only. The move comes as a growing number of states are addressing concerns about plastics, which harm wildlife and clog landfills. Each day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes. That is according to the United Nations Environment Programme. People are increasingly breathing, eating and drinking tiny plastic particles.