Rockport, TX ‘Skip The Plastic' Bag Campaign

Skip the Plastic - Rockport/Fulton started with a group of attendees at a Plastic in the Marine Evironment presentation sponsored by The Aquarium in Rockport Harbor in November 2012.  The group decided to focus on education and seek support across the community.  It affiliated in 2013 with the Corpus Christi Skip the Plastic group, led by the Surfrider Foundation Coastal Bend Chapter, to access their knowledge and research on the subject.  Presentations by local residents were made to local organizations such as the Rockport Center for Arts, Aransas Bird and Nature Club, Aransas County Commissioners Court,  Key Allegro Property Owners, Rotary Club, Lamar Women's Club, and Rockport Chamber of Commerce RV Owners. Special events included documentary film showings, marching in local parades, and providing booths at fairs, culminating in a Skip the Plastic 2014 Memorial Day Proclamation by the Mayor of Rockport, followed by similar proclamations from the Mayor of Fulton and the Aransas County Navigation District Board.  

Most recently in a December 2014 Rockport City Council workshop, the idea of an ordinance to establish controls on the distribution of single-use plastic bags was discussed with Skip the Plastic - Rockport members as speakers.  During a second City Council workshop in March 2015, it was decided to draft an ordinance for consideration, tentatively scheduled for the April 28, 2015 City Council meeting.