Beaufort votes to ban thick plastic grocery bags. Here’s the plan for plastic straws
The city of Beaufort is proposing to ban the use of so-called “single-use” plastic bags and requiring customers to ask for plastic straws when they eat out.
Those are just two proposed changes that are part of a significant expansion of city rules limiting the use of single-use plastics to protect the environment, City Manager Scott Marshall said.
Single-use plastics are items like grocery bags, straws or restaurant utensils that are used one time and then thrown a way.
In 2018, along with Beaufort County and other municipalities, the city of Beaufort adopted regulations restricting plastic bags. The purpose was to encourage reusable bags and limit litter.
But a loophole allowed stores, including retail giant Walmart, to introduce thicker plastic bags and market them as “reusable.” Critics have argued the thicker plastic bags are still getting discarded with some ending up in marshes and streams where they threaten marine life.
Beaufort County and other municipalities are now considering amendments to the original regulations, and the city of Beaufort’s City Council, on Tuesday, became the first to pass them on a first reading. A second vote is needed to make them final.
Under the city’s new rules, all plastic bags would be banned and stores must provide customers with the option of a reusable bag. But this time, the rules carry a definition that says reusable carry-out bags must be cloth with handles that are stitched, not heat-sealed.
Other disposable products targeted
Beaufort’s proposed rules affect more than bags, Marshall noted.
Under the changes, businesses also would be barred from providing to-go cups and food trays made of expanded polystyrene foam (EDF).
“No business establishment conducting business within the city limits may provide plastic carry-out bags or EDF disposable food service ware to its customers,” the regulations say. “All business establishments conducting business shall provide or make available to a customer in the city of Beaufort reusable carry-out bags or recyclable papers bags.”
While plastic straws and eating utensils would not be banned, restaurants would only need to provide them if requested by customers. They also could be provided if an employee asks and a customer says, “yes.” Straws and utensils would also be provided in a self-serve area.
The response to Beaufort’s plastic crackdown
The crackdown on plastic was welcomed by several residents and groups, including the Coastal Conservation League and the Port Royal Sound Foundation, who spoke Tuesday before the council voted.
“We do need to get plastic out of Beaufort especially with our beautiful waterways, where it happens too often,” said Patricia Jaudon, who served on a committee that worked on the city’s original ordinance dealing with plastic bags years ago.
Councilman Neil Lipsitz introduced a motion that would have stricken any mention of straws or cutlery from the amendments. “I hate those paper straws,” he said. But the proposed motion failed after other members pointed out that the amendments do not propose banning plastic straws.
“I guess I have to get myself a sippy cup,” Lipsitz said in defeat.
Marshall, the city manager, noted the ordinance, if passed, would be implemented over eight months, which he called “a saving grace.”
The background of efforts to reduce single-use plastics
Last year, the Beaufort County Council, which is leading the broader effort to reduce single-use plastics, asked its staff to explore whether the county should improve its 2018 Plastic Bag Ordinance.
Part of the research was conducting a survey of 6,062 residents and 138 businesses from across the county. Residents were asked about their support for a complete ban on five single-use plastics: thick plastic bags, foam containers, foam cups, plastic utensils and plastic straws.
Support for banning foam containers and cups was strongest, with the margin 5-1 in favor among residents and 3 to 1 among businesses, according to the county. Support for banning plastic bags was “substantial,” or 4-1 in favor.
There were mixed views on banning plastic utensils and straws. While it was favored 2-1 by residents, businesses were divided.
Support for taking action on single-use plastics was strongest in communities like Hilton Head and Bluffton south of the Broad River.
What about enforcement?
Beaufort says it has the authority to pass environmental regulations on litter control.
Any business that doesn’t comply with the provisions after a written warning would be fined $100 and face a $200 penalty for a second infraction within a 12-month period. Each additional violation within the 12 months would be $500. Repeated violations could result in a business licenses being revoked.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 3:56 PM.
