Working with long-time town employee and
Environmental Committee chairman Jim Jordan, PICK
helped with the initial draft of the Town’s ordinance. After
a public educational workshop with Town Council and
input from the Conservancy and the full Environmental
Committee, a draft ordinance was presented to Town
Council in May 2019. The second reading and passage of the
ordinance occurred in early June.
Not all plastic goods are banned.
The Kiawah ordinance, as well as the regulations in
neighboring towns, provides several exemptions. These
exceptions include, among other things, laundry, waste, and
newspaper bags; bags supplied by doctors to contain drugs
and other medical necessities; bags that consumers bring
to retail establishments for their own use; plastic straws
necessary for customers with medical conditions; and plastic
meat trays, lids, and cutlery. You can read a complete list
of exemptions in the ordinance on the Town’s website
(www.kiawahisland.org).
In addition to exemptions, the ordinance does allow for a
temporary exclusion upon written request to the Chairman
of the Town’s Environmental Committee. To date, no such
claims have been received. To be considered, any application
must indicate that compliance would cause undue hardship
or practical difficulty to the applicant and may be granted
for a period of up to one year. After the expiration of the
exemption, there will be no further extensions of the waiver.
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Naturally Kiawah