South Padre Island’s plastic bag ordinance is going before the City Council today, a ripple effect of a Texas Supreme Court ruling last month on the legality of such regulations.
South Padre Island’s plastic bag ordinance is going before the City Council today, a ripple effect of a Texas Supreme Court ruling last month on the legality of such regulations.
There’s concern from city officials and conservationists about the impact the future use of single-use plastic bags will have on endangered sea turtles in the area.
Council members will vote on the repeal of the 2012 ordinance that required businesses to offer customers only “compostable plastic and compostable paper checkout bags,” with some exceptions for plastic bags that are used to prevent food contamination or for garments and laundry.
In a lawsuit by the Laredo Merchants Association, the Texas Supreme Court in June ruled that Laredo’s ban on single-use bags conflicts with state law that says local governments can’t restrict the use of containers or packages for solid waste management purposes.
South Padre Island City Manager Susan Guthrie said the city received a letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stating the city’s ordinance violates state law.
Guthrie said that, provided city council members vote to rescind the ordinance, a letter will immediately go out asking businesses to voluntarily continue the practice of avoiding single-use plastic bags. The main concern is the environmental impact of the bags, considering the Island is a breeding ground for critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, which are known to mistake plastic bags for jelly fish and consume them, she said.
In a statement to The Brownsville Herald, Sea Turtle Inc. Executive Director Jeffrey A. George said the organization is disappointed with Texas’ “forced repeal” of South Padre Island’s plastic bag ordinance.
“Each year we document numerous sea turtles that have ingested plastic in many forms,” he said. “We will continue to provide public education about the dangers of marine debris and its impact on our local marine wildlife and habitat.”
George said Sea Turtle Inc. hopes businesses will continue to use alternatives to plastic bags.
“Our oceans depend on each of us making small sacrifices,” he said.
Brownsville has a similar ordinance restricting single-use plastic bags. Interim City Manager Michael Lopez said in a statement to The Herald it is not being enforced and that “vendors may provide plastic bags at their discretion.”
The South Padre Island City Council meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in council chambers on the second floor of the municipal building, 4601 Padre Blvd. It will be streamed live at www.myspi.org.
