HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-24-23 Public Comment - T. Quatraro - Beyond PlasticsFrom:terry
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]FW: Re: A letter to the Bozeman City Commissioners
Date:Monday, July 24, 2023 10:15:59 AM
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My name and address:
Terry Quatraro 5205 Eclipse Drive
Bozeman, Montana 59715
I was on the Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board for over 20 years. I am currently on the Solid Waste Board at Logan Landfill.
However, the group I am representing besides myself is Gallatin Valley Beyond Plastics an
affiliate of the Natioal Beyond Plastics Organization.
I plan on being present for public comment at tomorrow's meeting July 26.
I am going to introduce the Natioal Beyond Plastics Director, Megan Wolff, who is visitingBozeman from New York.
We both will be speaking in regards to requesting the City of Bozeman to create some kind of
ordinance that encourages city wide events and local Bozeman businesses to eliminate the useof single use plastics.
Below is the gist of what we plan to say.
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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A HORRENDOUS PROBLEM, WE CAN SOLVE NOW
Did you know that an average of 40,000 pounds of plastics are being dumped into our
own Gallatin Valley Logan Landfill each month? Plastic material is so durable that it
lasts for thousands of years, fragmenting into tinier and tinier pieces instead of
biodegrading. These pieces (microplastics) are present nearly everywhere
researchers have looked: in dust, rain, drinking water, soil, plants, animals – and in
us. Researchers have detected microplastics in numerous human organs, includingintestine, lung, vein tissue, and both sides of the placenta. They have also been
observed in human blood and breast milk, and in the first stool of newborn infants.
Many are wondering: what impact are all these plastics having on our health?
Researchers are uncertain, but they know that their impacts on animal models are
dreadful, and they know that plastics themselves are made with thousands of
chemical additives that are themselves highly toxic, and which leach out at every
phase of their existence. Over 2300 of the chemicals used to make plastic are
“chemicals of concern,” meaning they are known carcinogens, hormone disruptors
(linked to obesity, infertility, early puberty) and neurotoxicants (linked to ADHD,autism spectrum disorders). When they touch our food through packaging or
foodware, and when they enter our bodies, plastics act like tiny trojan horses,
constantly dispersing these chemicals. They are especially hazardous to the pregnant
and the young
But this problem really is solvable. We can reduce the plastics we buy and use. We
can reject plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable cloth ones, reject productsencased in plastic when the same product is packaged in cardboard or comes in an
aluminum can, go back to using sturdy glass baby bottles and seek out alternatives to
plastic containers and toys that are plastic free! As they say it takes a
village. Because of HB 407, we in Montana are forbidden by law from banning singleuse plastics in our towns, as many cities elsewhere have done. But the City can
consider ordinances that prohibit the municipality or city from spending taxpayer
dollars on single use plastics, and the City can continue to push back against HB 407
by creating incentives for businesses and city entities to reduce their use of single useplastics. The power is ours, together. Will our "village " take on this responsibility?
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Terry Quatraro
Gallatin Valley Beyond Plastics
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone