– Read the latest updates from Sustainable Plymouth including details for the upcoming virtual film screening of Tidewater, the upcoming Electronic Waste Collection event, updates from various working groups, and news from the Town of Plymouth’s Climate, Energy, and Environmental Task Force.

The Film: Tidewater documents the struggles of sea level rise in a coastal community of 17 cities and municipalities in Virginia. As flooding worsens, the community looks to a multitude of possible solutions.

Discussion and Speakers: Dr. Sara Grady is the South Shore Regional Coordinator for the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership and Watershed Ecologist at the North and South Rivers Watershed Association in Norwell, MA. Sara will discuss some projections of sea level rise in Plymouth and the potential impacts that it could have on our community.  Patrick Flaherty, a member of the Plymouth Select Board, will also be joining us to update us on the progress of Plymouth’s Climate, Energy and Environmental Taskforce.

Cosponsored with Citizens Climate Lobby and American Resilience Project

WHEN: May 17, 2021 at 6:00pm

REGISTER (free): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tidewater-film-screening-sea-level-rise-discussion-tickets-149610562219

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

Sustainable Plymouth has issued a letter of support to the Open Space Committee for their Climate Addendum.  We are drafting a letter of support for the Town’s saltwater intrusion study as well.

CLIMATE EMERGENCY RESOLUTION AND NETZERO DECARBONIZATION PLAN

We are in the early stages of discussing and developing a resolution to declare a climate emergency and ask the town to draft a NetZero decarbonization plan.  More info to come.

SPRING ELECTRONICS WASTE COLLECTION DAY

Saturday April 24^th will be a Spring Electronics Waste Collection Day for the Plymouth area. It has been quite some time since we have had an Ewaste collection day so we expect this to be quite popular. Unlike the traditional Hazardous Waste Day there will be specific fees associated with the disposal of electronic items but the prices are quite low. Both events help to ensure that items are disposed of properly and not in the woods or along roadways littering the community.  More details here at the South Coast Recycling Cooperative: https://ssrcoop.info/event/electronics-recycling-collection/?instance_id=106

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY!

If anyone is interested in volunteering for the EWaste collection event – including the whole event, a few hours, one hour, whatever time you can offer – please reach out to Kerin McCall, Town of Plymouth Waste/Recycling:  (508) 747-1620 ext. 201

Town of Plymouth Climate, Energy & Environmental Task Force

Overview

This initiative invites feedback, transparency and collaboration across Plymouth town departments and committees with citizen groups and individuals on all items relating to climate, energy and the environment. The task force itself does not currently have ‘members’ or meetings but is rather a process to organize and inventory past and current projects to allow streamlined communication between the Town and public. The Plymouth CEE public document will be continuously updated as new information is submitted by both the Town and public.

Phases & Approach

Phase I – Inventory Plymouth Town Items

Timeline: March 1, 2021 through April 13, 2021

A request was made to all town departments to submit their initiatives and projects that are completed, in progress, or planned. These items were added to the Plymouth CEE Task Force public document: Climate, Energy & Environmental Task Force Spreadsheet.

Phase II – Public Groups & Individuals Submit Their Priority Items

Timeline: April 14, 2021 through May 7, 2021

In this phase, groups and individuals can review the public CEE Task Force document and view the current, past and future CEE related projects. If there is an item that is not listed, additional items can be submitted through this form: Plymouth CEE Task Force – Public Submission Form.

All the submitted items will then be compiled and added to the public CEE document.

Phase III – Prioritizing Item Review Through Public Feedback

Timeline: May 10, 2021 through May 28, 2021

Once all public submissions have been received, a public polling will prioritize the top items to be reviewed by the town and set as an agenda item for the Select Board.

For each item, the Town will then review and provide feedback on:

• The current priority of the item (if and when it is planned to become an active project).
• Any obstacles, including funding and/or staff resources, that are preventing the item from moving forward.
• What the next steps would be to make the item an active project (grant application, Town Meeting article, re-prioritizing other initiatives, etc.)

During this agenda item at the Select Board meeting, any group or individual can speak to the items on the docket for that evening.

Phase IV – Select Board Response to Each Item

Timeline: After the Phase III Select Board Meeting

For each priority item that was on the agenda in Phase III, the Select Board will review the status of each

Read more on the Town’s website here.

Plymouth Hometown Cleanup May 8th

Volunteers Needed!

Thank you to the Network of Open Space Friends for sharing the town-wide cleanup flyer with us!