Cape Plastic Bans – What Is Allowed Where?

With 15 towns and 15 sets of bylaws, the Cape offers a mix of plastics use guidelines. What items are prohibited and where? We gathered the info together here!

See Quick Summary by Plastic Type

Click on the picture for a short summary of where it is banned.

What are plastic bans on Cape Cod?

12 May 2024 - CAPE COD, MA - A spree of plastic bans has been sweeping across Cape Cod since 2014 when the first plastic reducing bylaw was adopted to ban the commercial distribution of plastic bags. Today a ban on commercial distribution of plastic bags is the only bylaw adopted by all 15 towns - but each of the 15 towns has its own set of related plastic-reducing guidelines as well.

For example, several towns require business owners to offer consumers or guests drinking straws made by sustainable material such as bamboo or paper to quench their thirst in the Cape Cod sun, or have put composable utensils on the take out menu.

Will Cape Cod's tourist industry be affected?

As the tourism season gets ready for Summer 2024, some people worry about the impact of plastic bylaws on the hospitality sector. As town after town  implemented changes in the commercial use of plastic items over the past few years, retailers and food and tourist businesses have had to switch from plastics to sustainable materials to adapt to these bylaws which include banning  single use plastic water bottles, polystyrene, utensils, containers, plastic nip bottles, and balloons. Workshops, outreach, and pilot programs have helped prepare the industry.

Do sustainable alternatives exist?

This year’s theme for Earth Day was "planet versus plastic," with a goal to reduce plastic by 60 percent in 2040. Part of this involves moving to reusable bottles and meal containers,  composable utensils and take-out boxes, and bamboo straws. These, as well as other sustainable alternatives not only exist, but are also in growing use across the Cape & Islands.

After images of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose spread on social media, awareness of the impact of these types of plastic increased and made people more open to trying  alternatives single use plastics.