HANOVER - May 20, 2026 - In a powerful display of youth-led civic action, Hanover High School junior Lexie Schiller successfully spearheaded a citizen’s petition that bans single-use plastic bags across the town. The initiative, which passed with zero opposition at the recent town meeting, requires local businesses to transition to paper alternatives within six months. Members of the Hanover School Committee praised the achievement as an exemplary model of local government in action, with one member even offering to author Schiller’s college recommendation letter.
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The Hanover School Committee opened its session by celebrating a monumental environmental victory engineered entirely by a local student. Lexie Schiller, a junior at Hanover High School, detailed her journey of launching a successful town-wide citizen’s petition to eliminate single-use plastic bags. Driven by a lifelong passion for the environment and a desire to combat global issues at a grassroots level, Schiller gathered required signatures with the immediate backing of her AP Environmental teacher, Mr. McLean.
Despite widespread expectations of intense public pushback and mixed commentary across social media platforms prior to the town meeting, Schiller’s presentation proved so airtight that it silenced all naysayers. Committee member Libby Corbo, who attended the town meeting night, noted that her speech was so compelling that it resulted in “zero debate” on the floor. Moving forward, Schiller is slated to meet with municipal officials next week to outline the implementation phase. According to the passed article, town businesses will have a six-month grace period to completely phase out single-use plastics and switch over to paper bags.
“This was something that I could do something about, so I decided to start the change... So it successfully passed, and it was a great experience.” [0:00:26] — Lexie Schiller
