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RALEIGH – The House Environmental Committee delayed talks Tuesday on a Senate bill that would ban certain types of plastic bags along the Outer Banks. Several lawmakers have referred to the proposal as a "pilot plan" that, if successful, could one day become law statewide.

A recent survey found that 47 percent of North Carolinians support a ban on non-recyclable plastic bags. 31 percent opposed the idea, and 22 percent said they were unsure.

The bill passed the state Senate by a 47-1 vote.

"The plastic bag, the particular one that we're looking at that we want to ban, will get up into the air and end up in our trees, along our shorelines, in the water, in the marine environment, and it is a visual pollutant," Dare County Sen. Marc Basnight said.

Basnight said the move is just as much about making money as about going green.

"The nature of our economy is beauty, is cleanliness. Where we happen to be on the Outer Banks, we have a lot of water around us. We want to get the bags out," he said.

Basnight said he's not sure if a ban on plastic bags would be popular in other parts of the state, but it is a trend that's picking up momentum in other parts of the country.

Other cities, states and private companies like grocery stores may trash plastic bags in favor of greener recycled paper or cloth bags.

Pollsters said the fact that it's now happening on the coast says something about the state.

"We found that democrats, republicans and independents were all in favor of doing this," said Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling. "It's a real strong indication of how much more concerned about the environment North Carolinians are becoming."

The Environmental Committee plans to take up the bill in a week or two.