Fertilizer ban up for debate at Annual Town Meeting
jbrotton
By Dean Geddes
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @DGeddesIM
(April 7, 2022) Joe Minella has proposed that Town Meeting back a home-rule petition establishing legislation that would ban the use of fertilizer island-wide except for farming purposes.
The excessive pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizers causes large algae blooms and explosive growth of lyngbya bacteria that is killing the eelgrass in the harbor, he said.
It’s an issue that is only magnified after the bleak scallop season this year, which saw just 3,200 bushels taken, compared to 7,800 taken the year before.
“The biggest thing is the chemicals. At Town Meeting I hope people are awake enough,” commercial scalloper Bob Rank said. “The majority of the people just don’t know. The landscapers don’t want to tell them because they want to make money. That’s a big business, but it’s unnatural. It’s introducing chemicals. That’s one of the biggest businesses here.”
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