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Description
Every winter, the City of Boston's Inspectional Services Dept. is a tenant's best ally in getting the landlord to fix problems with their apartments. That is just one of the ways ISD works to make Boston better for everyone. This December, the City of Boston is banning plastic bags from all retail stores in the city. On this episode of Commissioners Corner, Host, Lois Leonard, and Inspectional Services Commissioner William Christopher discuss ISD's role in implementing this measure to protect the environment and clean our streets of these bags.
For more information on the plastic bag ban, visit: https://boston.gov/plastic-bags
A
Hi
and
welcome
to
commissioner's
corner
I'm
your
host
Lois
Leonard
and
thanks
for
joining
us.
The
vote
was
unanimous
last
year
when
the
Boston
City
Council
agreed
to
ban
single-use
plastic
bags
and
retail
stores
and
with
Mayor
Walsh's
support,
the
new
policy
will
soon
take
effect.
The
message
is
clear:
convenience
does
not
outweigh
the
cost
to
our
environment
and
with
us
today
to
help
us
understand
how
the
new
policy
will
work
is
William
Christopher,
jr.,
Commissioner
of
Boston's
inspectional
Services
Department
welcome
morning.
A
B
Inspectional
services
made
up
of
basically
five
departments.
We
have
our
building
division,
which
deals
with
most
commercial
buildings
in
all
general
types
of
construction.
We
have
our
housing
division,
which
focuses
on
housing
issues
and
the
enforcement
of
the
sanitary
code.
We
have
weights
and
measures,
which
is
the
analytical
teams
of
inspectors
that
verify
that
scale.
When
it
reads
a
pound
is
actually
a
pound.
When
the
gas
tank
says
it's
a
gallon,
it's
actually
a
gallon.
B
We
have
our
health
department,
which
primarily
manages
the
food
markets
in
the
city
and
the
restaurants,
the
litter
grading
system,
people
are
familiar
with,
and
the
final
division
is
our
environmental
department,
which
deals
a
lot
with
rodent,
and
you
know,
insect
infestations
throughout
the
city
and
areas.
Your.
B
B
Mayor
Walsh
has
made
it
very
clear
that
the
quality
of
life
for
all
people
in
our
city
is
the
paramount
issue,
so
we
we
are
able
to
in
most
cases
behind
the
scenes,
be
able
to
put
deliver
that
so
that
we
make
sure
that
all
the
minimum
standards
are
being
met,
and
you
know
issues
and
questions
are
being
addressed
properly.
So.
A
B
There's
there's
a
couple
things
about
it.
That's
very
important.
People
have
to
understand
that
this
is
really
about
at
the
checkout
point.
This
will
not
have
an
effect
when
you're
bagging,
your
apples
or
meat
or
the
smaller
issues
it'll
not
affect
your
dry
cleaning
bags
or
your
newspaper
bags.
It's
the
point
of
sale
is
what
the
way
we've
been
dealing
with
it.
B
So
if
they,
you
have
the
plastic
bags
that
we're
so
used
to
dealing
with
now
are
really
quite
a
nuisance
on
our
environment
in
a
number
of
ways,
not
only
from
general
cleanliness,
but
it's
also
a
marine
life
and
everybody
sees
them
hanging
in
the
trees.
So
the
mayor,
working
with
the
City
Council,
has
decided
to
have
one
more
step
towards
you
know
a
much
greener
City,
so
we've
put
this
ordinance
together.
Isd
is
going
to
be
the
enforcement
agency.
B
It
the
policy
actually
lives
in
the
Environment
Department,
which
is
working
very
hard
to
green
our
city
and
we're
all
in
support
of
it.
So
it's
something
that
we
have
to
work
out.
Inspectional
services,
along
with
the
invited
apartment
environmental
department,
has
been
doing.
You
know
an
awful
lot
of
community
meetings,
because
we
want
people
to
hear
about
it
firsthand.
The
major
issues
that
you
you
have
to
be
aware
of
is
that
again
bags
with
handles
are
not
going
to
be
allowed.
B
We
do
not
want
to
economically
socially
affect
people's
lives,
so
we're
trying
to
be
realistic
about
how
we
deal
with
this.
The
mayor's
with
many
consumers
and
many
businesses
is
now
handing
out
recyclable
bags.
Most
of
us
have
them
is
that
drawer,
in
the
kitchen
or
behind
the
closet
door
and
the
biggest
inconvenience
will
be
just
you
have
to
remember,
to
take
them
with
you.
B
B
In
that
that
money
remains
in
the
store
to
off,
you
know
offset
some
of
their
costs,
but
you
know
we
do
want
people
to
be
responsible
and
if
we
run
into
situations
where
we
feel
stores
are
you
know
excessively
charging
for
that.
We
do
want
to
know
about
it.
It's
not
against
the
ordinance
at
all,
but
we
do
think
from
you
know
community
point
of
view.
We
want
to
address
them
to
see.
If
we
can,
we
can
help
it,
so
it
we're
gonna
roll
it
out
in
three
phases.
B
B
A
A
You
mentioned
this
already,
but
just
to
reiterate,
if
it's
a
bag
that
you
put
your
apples
in,
that's
fine,
it's
just
bags
with
handles
that
are
now
those
thin
plastic
bags
are
not
going
to
be
allowed
and
stores
will
be
providing
if
they
choose
to
recyclable
bags,
different
material
bags
that
you
can
purchase.
Yes,.
B
And
there
are
plastic
bags
that
are
recyclable.
The
thin
small
ones
are
not
recyclable,
it
was
too
thin,
but
the
bag
has
to
be
stamped
and
certified
that
it
is
a
recyclable
bag
stores
were
also
required
to
post
within
I
believe
it's
5
feet
of
the
cashier,
the
actual
cost
of
the
bags,
and
it's
required
to
show
up
on
your
receipt,
the
cost
of
that
bag.
So
so.
A
You
know
mostly
most
of
us
when
we
think
about
this.
We
think
of
grocery
stores
is
the
first
thing
that
comes
to
mind,
but
this
will
affect
a
store
like
Target
or
Walmart,
the
big
stores,
which
are
a
little
different,
because
quite
often
you
buy
things
that
are
very
large,
so
the
stores
by
law
are
also
not
required
to
provide
you
with
bags,
something
it.
B
A
B
There's
one
thing
that
I
do
have
to
mention
is
that
some
of
the
larger
stores
may
have
a
huge
inventory
of
these
bags
and
it's
not
going
to
be
a
drop-dead
date
for
us.
What
we're
going
to
do
is,
if
you
have
an
inventory
that
you
can
show
us
and
you
apply,
for
a
variance
will
allow
you
an
extension
of
one
year,
so
you're
not
just
blatantly
thrown
away
these
bags.
They
will
get
some
use,
but
they
have
to
apply
to
the
environmental
department
for
that
waiver.
It'll
be.
A
B
Right:
okay,
absolutely
where
we're
hoping
consumers
will
be
providing
their
own.
You
know
reusable
bags
for
the
day
to
do
stuff.
The
larger
box
stuff,
you
know
like
buy
a
bundle
of
clothing
at
Target
or
place
like
that.
You
may
be
dealing
with
multiple
bags,
but
it's
the
idea
that
if
we
don't
do
this
unilaterally
across
the
city,
it'll
have
no
effect.
It.
A
Has
to
start
somewhere
absolutely
we've
all
seen
our
streets
and
our
you
know
our
curbs
littered
with
these
bags,
and
we
understand
how
this
does
negatively
affect
our
environment,
but
it
seemed
to
have
taken
a
long
time
to
actually
get
this
policy
into
effect
where
there,
what
were
the
concerns
against
it?
Well,.
B
There
were
economic
concerns.
We
were
really
concerned
about
the
elderly
in
the
cost
of
having
to
deal
with
these
bags.
This
is
just
you
know.
A
lot
of
folks
live
on
very
fixed
incomes,
and
we
did
not
want
this
to
have
a
negative
impact
at
all.
So
it
did
it
took
us
I
know
it
was
first
promoted
at
the
City
Council
by
Consuela,
Malley
I
think
a
year
ago,
year
and
a
half
ago,
and
we
just
had
to
work
through
the
nuances
to
make
sure
that
we
were
not
going
to
have
any
unexpected
results.
B
B
A
B
B
A
B
That's
part
of
the
city's
help
phasing
it
out
yeah
so
that
when
you
know
you're
doing
your
larger
purchases
right
now,
it'll
be
the
first
event.
So
you
know
in
where,
where
the
city
in
general
is
out
to
a
lot
of
the
communities
trying
to
explain
to
people
what
this
is
to
reinforce
it,
so
it
is.
It
is
a
bit
of
a
change
in
the
way
we
shop,
but
we
think
that
the
city
you
can
deal
with
it.
Ok,.
A
So
these
are
good
changes
for
our
city
coming
towards
the
end
of
this
year
and
the
beginning
of
the
next,
and
as
we
close
in
on
the
beginning
of
a
new
year,
there's
a
few
other
issues
that
we
might
want
to
talk
about.
There
are
new
regulations
regarding
short-term
rentals
Airbnb
as
I
know
them
as
most
of
us
call
them,
but
specifically,
there
are
different
definitions
in
different
situations.
So
can
you
discuss
some
of
the
new
registration
and
regulation
sure.
B
B
That's
an
ordinance
that
will
be
going
into
effect
in
January,
January
1,
step
1
will
be
registration,
everybody
who
is
gonna
partake
of
this,
and
the
guidelines
are
very
specific
about
that.
It
can
only
be
in
an
owner-occupied
one,
two
or
three
family.
There
are
different
definitions
for
home
share
additional
unit,
an
extra
unit,
the
room
share,
which
is
what
most
people
are
familiar
with,
where
you
in
your
own
house,
rent
out
your
bedroom
you'll
be
allowed
to
do
that
without
a
big
issue.
B
Your
unit
that
you
live
in,
you
will
also
be
able
to
rent
out,
but
you
have
to
make
sure
that
you
maintain
enough
presence
in
that
building
to
maintain
your
residency
here
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
then,
if
you
have
an
additional
unit,
you
can
also
rent
that
unit
out.
But
there
are
caveats
we,
you
can't
rent
them
out
simultaneously.
They've
got
to
be
rented
out
separately.
A
A
B
B
A
B
B
Well,
the
building
will
be
if
it
has
an
occupancy
permit
for
a
resident
constructions
will
meet
the
requirements
for
the
short-term
rental.
So
we
will
be
looking
at
that
if
it's
reported
to
us
that
there's
illegal
activity,
you're
renting
out
a
unit
and
you're
not
registered
there'll,
be
a
fine,
a
daily
fine
I.
Believe
it's
a
hundred
dollars
per
day.
If
you
do
that,
if
you
rent
out
an
ineligible
unit,
a
unit
that's
not
listed
or
that
does
not
meet
the
requirements
for
eligibility
and
it's
all
spelled
in
the
ordinance,
that's
a
$300
a
day.
B
Fine
and
again,
the
goal
for
this
is
like
all
of
our
ordinances.
Fines
don't
solve
problems,
they
offset
the
cost
of
us
having
to
resolve
the
problems
we
would
much
prefer
you
know
through
you
know,
through
assistance
is
the
way
that
we
can
best
and
deal
with
our
enforcement,
so
registration,
paramount
issue.
If
you
are
advertising
on
you
know
one
of
the
social
platforms
that
do
this
and
you're
not
a
legal
unit.
B
A
I
would
imagine
you
know
many
of
these
people
who
are
taking
advantage
of
this
in
a
good
way.
They've,
never
owned
a
small
business
before
they've,
never
considered
that
I
have
to
register
for
something
I
have
to
pay
a
fee
for
something.
So
do
you
think
it's
good
advice
to
give
those
people
and
everyone
go
online
and
get
informed
and
know
what
you're
getting
into
online.
B
We
have
a
lot
of
information
the
city's
web
base.
It
was
a
wealth
of
information,
we're
looking
at
this.
You
know
by
putting
it
into
the
1
2
3
4.
This
will
be
bringing
guests
from
other
parts
of
this.
You
know
the
state,
the
country
of
the
world
to
our
neighborhoods,
which
we
think
will
you
know,
improve
the
quality
of
businesses
being
available
it'll,
be
an
economic
stimulus
in
a
way
that
we
haven't
been
able
to
touch
before
so.
Overall,
you
know
we're
excited
about
it.
We've
worked
very
closely
with
platforms.
B
Will
there
be
bumps
in
this
I
guarantee
there
will
be,
but
we're
trying
to
be
very
open
about
it.
We're
trying
to
you
know,
work
with
the
different
people.
The
team
at
City,
Hall,
that's
been
working
on.
This
has
been
very
interactive
with
all
of
the
platforms
that
are
out
there.
Sometimes
we
agree
about
the
way
we
should
do
it.
A
B
We'll
be
there,
you
know
if
you
have
questions
the
mayor
has
put
together.
You
know
the
3-1-1
hotline,
whether
you
do
it
through
a
smartphone
or
you
call
it
a
landline.
That's
a
great
resource.
It's
been
wonderful
for
inspectional
services
on
all
of
our
programs
and
enforcement
endeavors,
because
once
that
call
is
made
you
can
do
it
24/7.
B
B
Yeah,
it
again
I,
never
quote
the
ordinance,
because
I've
always
got
to
look
it
up
and
make
sure
that
I've
got
it
right.
The
economic
burden
for
the
registration
is
really
just
to
offset
the
cost
for
us
to
maintain
the
registers
and
make
sure
that
we're
not
creating
an
undue
burden
to
people
that
aren't
taking
care
of
it.
So
if
you
want
the
opportunity
to
do
this-
and
you
know,
I
have
some
disposable
income,
it's
a
small
price
to
pay.
We
think
okay.
A
A
B
The
landlord,
if
you
live
in
a
multi-unit
building,
is
responsible
to
make
sure
that
happens.
There
has
to
be
a
source
of
heat.
In
order
for
that,
you
know
the
tenant
to
take
care
of
it
depending
upon
your
agreement,
whether
you
are
supplying
the
fuel
or
the
owners
supplying
the
fuel,
it's
something
that
we
get
a
lot
of
responses
on
so
far,
we've
had
you
know
a
relatively
soft
beginning
to
our
winter,
but
in
the
dead
of
winter
it
becomes
one
of
our
one
of
our
more
active
issues.
B
Again,
you
know
our
role
is,
if
you
find
yourself
in
this
situation,
don't
wait,
don't
go.
You
know
three
days
without
heat
or
without
hot
water,
and
then
you
know
give
us
a
call.
It
happens.
You
try
to
contact
your
landlord
or
the
person
responsible
property
manager.
If
you
don't
get
realistic
response,
you
know
get
a
legitimate
answer
or
date.
What
there's
going
to
happen?
Give
us
a
call
we're
only
too
happy
and
we
will
go
out
24/7,
because
we
do
not
want
people
to
be
in
a
situation
that
you
know
it's.
B
It's
just
one
it's
against
code,
but
it's
just
inappropriate
and
we
will
first
try
to
interface
with
whoever
the
responsible
party
is
to
make
sure
this
thing
gets
resolved
and
dealt
with
in
some
of
the
more
extreme
cases.
We
get
a
lot
more
involved,
and
you
know
our
last-ditch
effort
is
if
we
have
to
relocate
people,
but
we
will
not
abandon
people
during
during
the
winter,
because
it
it
can
be
a
life-threatening
situation.
Well,.
A
B
A
number
of
things
one
of
them
is,
is
proper
maintenance
we
find
all
too
often,
you
know
some
of
the
older
boilers
they
have
these
fuel
heads
that
that
follow
they
follow
just
about
every
year.
Now
is
the
time
to
get
out
and
test
your
systems
make
sure
things
are
done,
make
sure
the
filters
on
all
of
the
fluid
lines
have
been
checked
and
maintained
windows.
You
know
you
have
to
make
sure
that
you've
got
storm
windows.
Things
are
buttoned
up
in
type
weather
stripping
around
doors.
B
These
are
all
small
investments
by
the
owner
of
the
building
that
can
really
reduce
the
demand
on
a
heating.
We
do
not
advocate
portable
heaters,
the
porcelain
heaters
or
other
plugins
we've
gone
at
the
situation
where
people
have
the
one
extension
cords
going
across
the
room.
Those
are
very
dangerous
things.
You
know
in
the
in
a
situation
that
it's
properly
set
up
to
deal
with,
that
that's
fine,
but
we
do
not
promote
those.
You
know
they
cause
fires.
B
They
can
cause
burns,
the
building's
all
have
heating
systems,
it's
the
responsibility
of
the
owner
or
the
property
manager
to
make
sure
they're
working,
and
then
it's
the
responsibility
of
the
tenant
to
make
sure
that
they're
vigilant
that
if
it
isn't
working,
let
us
know
to
get
us
involved.
So
we
can
help
ok,.
A
B
A
Thank
you,
our
viewers
for
watching
there's
much
that
goes
on
behind
the
scenes
at
inspectional
services
that
protects
and
improves
our
lives.
It's
a
tall
order
for
this
department
that
enforces
building
housing,
health,
sanitation
and
safety
regulations
visit
their
website,
boston,
gov,
slash,
ISD
or
call
their
office
at
six
one,
seven,
six,
three
five,
fifty
three
hundred
and
get
a
better
understanding
of
how
your
city
works
as
always
dial
three
one
one
or
use
the
3-1-1
app
to
report
any
non-emergency
issues,
I'm
Louis,
Leonard
and
we'll
see
you
next
time
on
commissioners
corner.