Plastic bags on Hilton Head are up for debate again. Here’s how to voice your opinion

This story was updated to change the destination of the survey link.

To ban plastic bags or not?

It’s the same question that’s been circulating around Hilton Head Island and Beaufort County for the past several years.

But in the last week, the hypothetical conversation started to look a little more concrete.

Less than a week after about 40 local residents packed the room for a plastic bag presentation at a Hilton Head Island Planning Commission meeting, the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce is seeking the public’s opinion on the subject.

The chamber is asking the public to complete a quick survey asking whether or not they think there should be a ban on single-use plastic bags on Hilton Head.

Rikki Parker, South Coast Project Manager for the Coastal Conservation League, gave a presentation at the Planning Commission on June 21. It was the first time that a plastic bag ban or fee presentation was brought before a Hilton Head Island goverment committee.

During her presentation, Parker said that Americans use and throw away 100 billion plastic bags each year, and 12 million barrels of oil are used to create those bags.

The plastic pollution from single-use plastic bags is a serious concern not only for the marine life but also for the extremely profitable tourism industry and fishing industry in the area, she said.

Parker also presented the commission members with a draft point-of-sale plastic bag ban ordinance, based off of the two South Carolina plastic bag ban ordinances recently implemented on Folly Beach and Isle of Palms.

After Parker’s presentation, those in the audience were given the opportunity to address the commission members. Each of the audience members who spoke voiced their support for a plastic bag ban or fee and urged the commission members to act quickly to put an ordinance in place.

At the end of the meeting, the commission members decided they needed to hear from the other side of the table — local business owners — before making any decisions.

The chamber plans to release the results of its poll next week.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Plastic bags on Hilton Head are up for debate again. Here’s how to voice your opinion."