Revised plastics ban eyed that could affect Target/Walmart bags, straws, to-go Styrofoam
For years, the most controversial topic in grocery shopping has not been organic veggies versus non-organic, nor the angst over the scarcity and never-ending rise of egg prices. It’s been the concerns about the plastic bags used to tote groceries from the store to the car to the kitchen.
Beaufort County has launched a survey of residents and businesses as the county begins to rethink its plastic bag ban following a failed effort to update the current ordinance in May 2024. The proposed changes would have also included bans on plastic utensils and polystyrene containers.
Alice Howard, Beaufort County Council Chair, said that there were a number of questions and concerns regarding how the proposed rule would affect local businesses and restaurants. The council voted against moving forward with the changes in a 7-4 vote. The issue was sent back to a subcommittee, which decided that the county needed more data before moving forward with any updates.
“This was a bit of a drop back to figure out, ‘what are the perceptions, what are the attitudes around plastic and what are the needs to tighten it up if necessary,” Courtney Kimmel, the director of conservation at The Port Royal Sound Foundation, said.
The current ordinance, which passed in 2018, allows stores to distribute thicker, reusable plastic bags. Environmental advocates say this part of the ordinance created a loophole, as stores can still distribute plastic bags that, while marketed as reusable, still end up as waste. Shortly after the ordinance went into effect in 2018, thicker plastic bags appeared in Target and Walmart.
Grant McClure, the south coast project manager with the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, said he’s found these thicker bags in the area marshes. Since there is more plastic in the thicker versions of the plastic bag, they take longer to break down.
Going forward, other proposed changes to the ordinance could possibly include restrictions on plastic straws, carry out cutlery and Styrofoam to-go products, McClure said.
The county will have the final survey results in March 2025. Public education sessions and meetings with community members and local municipalities will follow, Howard said.
“We’re going to need a lot of meetings to get the right kind of feedback before any local body will vote on it,” Howard said.
Beaufort county wouldn’t be the first in the state to update their plastic ordinances. Charleston amended their ordinance to ban thick plastic bags, which took effect in July 2024. The Town of Mt. Pleasant, Town of St. James and Folly Beach have all made similar updates to their plastic bag bans as well.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM.
