Black Mountain, NC — On Monday, September 11, Town Commissioners in Black Mountain unanimously (with one absence) approved a resolution calling on Buncombe County to pass an ordinance that would ban single-use plastic shopping bags at the checkout aisle and styrofoam takeout containers.

With the passage of this resolution, Black Mountain has become the second municipality within Buncombe County to call on County Commissioners to fulfill their obligation under the North Carolina Solid Waste Management Act to reduce plastic pollution. The Town of Woodfin passed a similar resolution by a vote of 5-1 on August 15, 2023. The City of Asheville is expected to take up its own plastic reduction ordinance in October after a year of planning and surveying city residents and business owners.

The following is a statement from Anna Alsobrook, MountainTrue’s French Broad Watershed Science and Policy Manager:

We know that plastic pollution is a threat to human health and to our environment. Therefore, Buncombe County Commissioners have legal responsibility under North Carolina law to protect our residents by passing a ban on single-use plastic bags and styrofoam. More than 500 local governments across 28 U.S. states have taken action to reduce plastic pollution. This should be a slamdunk; we’ve even written a model ordinance for them. If you care about the health of our communities and our environment, please join us at the next Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting on September 19 at 5 p.m. to let them know that you want them to take action to reduce plastic pollution.

MountainTrue, the Sierra Club’s Western North Carolina Group, the N.C. Public Interest Research Group and the Creation Care Alliance are rallying their members to attend the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting on September 19 at 5 p.m. Details at mountaintrue.org.