Why plastic bag ban is a great first step

As a retired university professor, comparative pathologist and zoo veterinarian, and a resident of Beaufort County for the past 17 years, I have grave concerns about the degradation of our local environment. Before moving to the Lowcountry, I worked with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. I now volunteer at the Port Royal Sound Foundation.

Plastic bags in the marine environment kill marine mammals and sea turtles and negatively affect shellfish. I have autopsied several species of deceased dolphins, seals, sea turtles, marine-feeding birds and other wildlife that have been made sick and indeed died due to ingestion of plastic bags. They all suffered a horrible death.

The proposed plastic bag ban does not eliminate the problem, but it is a start. Rome was not built in a day! The ban will serve as a “teaching moment,” making residents think about the environmental contamination caused by our careless disposal of plastic grocery bags and other non-biodegradable materials.

We currently have a world-renowned and magnificent marine environment. To protect that environment is our responsibility. Beaufort County’s proposed bag ban will do much to maintain and improve our environment. It will lead and encourage other communities to consider similar bans and other measures.

It will educate the public that we must protect our fragile environment. We must not continue the current despoiling of our marshes, rivers, bays and sounds. We have time, but we must start now. It would be unconscionable if we were to follow the same destructive path as the Chesapeake Bay.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Why plastic bag ban is a great first step."