By Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury resident Ramesh Razdan met with the Board of Selectmen at their Oct. 9 meeting to discuss Article 8 which pertains to the proposed Polystyrene Reduction Bylaw contained in the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting that will take place Monday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Oak Middle School, 45 Oak St., Shrewsbury.
Razdan was joined by fellow supporters, Brian Moss and Shrewsbury High School students Rahul Razdan, Siddhant Dosi, Anirudh Iyer and Anish Warty.
This article revisits the issue of a polystyrene ban that was narrowly defeated at the Annual Town Meeting held in May. While many agreed with the premise of getting rid of Styrofoam, it failed because the general opinion was that more time was needed to engage with the community and come up with better language.
Since May, Razdan stated that he had positive feedback from many in the community and a lot of progress has been made, particularly with the Shrewsbury school system. Straws have been removed as well as plastic utensils and to-go containers. A discussion has also taken place regarding the installation of a dishwasher at Floral Street School.
Rahul Razdan explained that over this past summer he and his fellow students reached out to the Shrewsbury Board of Health, made changes to the bylaw based on their recommendations and went before them at their Sept. 26 meeting where full support was given.
The primary change to this bylaw is that it is now modeled after the plastic bag ban. If passed, it will go into effect in 2020, allowing enough time for the town to develop and implement deferment and enforcement policy.
“The board reviewed and met with the proponents. Also Central Mass. Regional Public Health Alliance (CMRPHA) has also reviewed Article 8. CMRPHA no longer has any concerns with the implementation of the article and the Board of Health voted unanimously to recommend passage of this article,” stated Board Chair Steve Vigeant, in a letter dated Oct. 7 which was read by Selectman Chair John Lebeaux.
“I really wanted to see you come back with something that we can get behind because I think it’s an important initiative. I commend all of you for sticking with it and following through on the promises you made to the Town Meeting and going back and working with the Board of Health,” remarked Selectman Beth Casavant.
In related news, selectmen voted to recommend Warrant Articles 2 through 16. The motion on Article 1, pertaining to the classification and compensation plan, is still in process and will be reviewed at the Personnel Board meeting Monday, Oct. 15.
