Conservation Survey of New Canaanites: 61 Percent Favor Plastic Bag Ban

The average New Canaan household cares far more than many might normally believe about conservation, town officials say. In a survey whose results recently were compiled by the Conservation Commission, 65 percent of respondents said they’d pay more for renewable resource energy, while those who would pay more for wind and solar outnumber those who wouldn’t by a 2-to-1 ratio. “This was not a small group of tree-huggers,” Conservation Commission Chair Cam Hutchins said during an interview after the group’s meeting Thursday night at Lapham Community Center. “This was a cross-section of New Canaanites—all ages, all walks of life. The fact that 35 percent of them didn’t know we had a recycling center says that these are not people who are ‘into’ recycling.”

Findings from the survey—summarized in the commission’s newsletter—include:

87 percent want more access to locally grown food;
63 percent want to learn more about home energy assessments;
96 would like their garbage company to take all recyclable materials;
and 61 percent would like to see the use of plastic bags prohibited.