Paper or plastic? Not an option on South Padre Island

 By STEVE CODY, II

It’s a done deal.

The City of South Padre Island joined the bandwagon to ban plastic bags at the point of sale. The or­dinance will be voluntary beginning Feb. 1st of this year and will take full effect on January 1st, 2012.

The City of South Padre Island is attempting to rid the landscape, waters and beaches of non-biode­gradable plastic bags. According to marine-life experts and city officials, plastic bags are hard to recycle and easily blow into trees and water­ways, where they are blamed for killing marine life. As to whether plastic bags are the greener choice is up to debate, however the choice of using them is no longer up for de­bate as the city council agreed dur­ing its Jan 19th commission meeting to pass a city ordinance banning the use of plastic bags within the city limits of South Padre Island.

For more on this story, pick up a copy of the Jan. 20 edition of the Port Isabel South Padre Press.