Watertown Resident Expands Efforts to Curtail Use of Plastics
Several years ago, Watertown’s Eileen Ryan pushed for Watertown to pass a plastic shopping bag ban, and now she has expanded her efforts statewide. In April, she founded Beyond Plastics Greater Boston, a local chapter of the national group Beyond Plastic. “After we passed the ban (in 2016) we all patted ourselves on the back and thought we did a great job. We really noticed that there are fewer plastic bags in the river, in trees around Watertown,” Ryan said.
Why Are They Called ‘Forever Chemicals,’ and Other Things to Know About PFAS
Residents of rural Central Massachusetts were shocked to learn that a composting facility likely spread toxic ‘forever chemicals’ known as PFAS into their drinking water, according to state officials. They’re not alone. The state has identified dangerous levels of the compounds in 84 community water systems across the Commonwealth. The chemicals have been linked to a slew of health problems, even in tiny quantities