While shopping for groceries we often hear that infamous question at the checkout line, “paper or plastic?” Residents in North Carolina, specifically the Outer Banks area, should get used to responding “paper” as the “plastic” part of the question may soon be obsolete.
Legislators in North Carolina (NC) are workings to save the environment by having local businesses to stop using plastic bag. The vote in the House was 78-41 for business owners to trade plastic for paper or have people provide their own reusable bags. Getting rid of plastic bags would mainly affect big, tourist-centered stores in Dare, Currituck and Hyde counties. Although the ban would affect the tourist populated areas, it is important to keep these areas clean, according to Representative Tim Spears, so tourist will want to keep coming back.
Not only will getting rid of plastic bags make the area more appealing, but it will also help protect the wild life. Thousands of animals die annually because of the pollution humans leave on the land, water, and in the air. In regards to plastic bags, sea turtles often ingest them, mistaking them for a jellyfish. The initiative North Carolina is taking to ban plastic bags will benefit both the tourist industry and the surrounding environment. Another danger that plastic bags pose is when children use plastic bags or other plastic-based materials to sled down hills. Major injury can result when a child falls or slams into an object such as a tree.