During their February 4 meeting, the members of the North Myrtle Beach City Council adopted a Resolution in support of implementing a long-term strategy to reduce the presence of single-use non-biodegradable plastics in the North Myrtle Beach environment.
In its Resolution, Council states that it is committed to “supporting the continuous improvement of health, environmental stewardship and overall quality of life in our community.”
Council notes that the community is heavily dependent on tourism and to sustain that activity, it is necessary to provide visitors with a high quality, clean, safe, environmentally responsible experience.
Single-use non-biodegradable plastics are increasingly coming into focus as a threat to land and sea, and an important source of environmental and habitat damage, in addition to being an eyesore when disposed of improperly.
City Council supports a multi-pronged approach to the problem of reducing single-use non-biodegradable plastics that includes:
· Providing more focused efforts on litter control and cleanup, and proper disposal of the plastics through a campaign of education and community cleanup drives
· Aggressive lobbying for local control of this and similar issues, and aggressive opposition of any State legislative initiatives that would hinder local control
· Expanding community education initiatives highlighting the threat to our environment posed by the plastics, and providing resources to citizens to help them find alternative products
· Working with the local business community to help businesses phase out use of the plastics in their packaging and processing activities in a manner that is cost-effective
· Gradually phasing in targeted local legislation dealing with certain sub-types of the plastics (Example: single-use plastic grocery bags) as alternatives become cost effective and readily available
The City is also working on a proposed ordinance pertaining to this issue, scheduled for first reading at the March 4 City Council meeting.
