MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – They’re back.
Despite dying during last year’s legislative session, two bills in the Florida House and Senate are once again trying to further keep local governments from banning plastic.
Not just that, but if passed, the new law would strike down whatever local regulations on plastic are already in place.
“Senate Bill 1822 is a terrible idea,” said State Senator Carlos Smith, who represents parts of Orange County. “I actually can’t think of a worse idea than this bill.”
There has been big pushback to Senate Bill 1822 that would not only ban local governments and state parks from regulating plastic containers, bags, and other disposable service items, but it would also erase local laws already in the books prohibiting single use plastics on city owned properties like parks and beaches.
“How does encouraging the production and use of more of these items protect our environment, our children’s future and our nature based economy that depends on clean waterways and beaches,” asked Stacey Gallagher, Policy Coordinator for the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Despite strong opposition, the Republican sponsored Senate bill and a similar one in the House, HB565, sailed through their first two committee hearings.
The bills add more teeth to a 2008 state preemption law that barred local governments from reducing or eliminating the sources of plastic polluting our beaches, shorelines and waterways.
Now conservationists fear if this new bill passes it would undue whatever progress has been made in spite of that preemption to stem the flow of plastic pollution impacting our natural spaces and endangering wildlife.
Sophie Ringel is the Founder and Executive Director of Clean Miami Beach. In the past six years, her organization has hosted 453 clean-ups, collecting a whopping 122,440 pounds of trash, the majority of it being plastic.
“I don’t want to put all the blame on just the people,” she said. “We also need to have better regulation and better production and better laws in place.”
Ringel cites a 2021 FDEP report that found that 93% of Floridians surveyed favor the regulation of single use plastics, but State Rep. Omar Blanco, who sponsored the house version of bill, pushed back.
“Most people that answered this report were people who are concerned about plastic,” said Blanco. “It’s not the everyday Floridian, the people who shop. I believe that most people use plastic responsibly.”
Still, a new study by Oceana published in February reveals eight in ten registered voters are concerned about plastic pollution, with widespread bipartisan support for reducing the amount of plastics produced.
“Americans are very concerned about it, and they know that really reducing plastic at the source and plastic production is the only way to really tackle the problem,” said Catherine Uden, the South Florida Field Representative for Oceana.
In the city of Miami Beach, a 2015 ban on Styrofoam greatly reduced its presence on shorelines and waterways. According to data from the Ocean Conservancy in 2016, foam pieces were the fourth most collected items during cleanups on Miami Beach, but in 2020, foam was 20th on that list.
If this bill passes, the Miami Beach ban on foam would be rescinded.
“Why are we stepping back and allowing more plastic to be around,” asked Ringel. “Why do we want to increase plastic production?”
Local 10 News’ Louis Aguirre asked Blanco how many of his constituents have emailed him in support of House Bill 565.
“Nobody,” said Blanco.
In 2020 alone, FDEP reported around 7,000 tons of plastic entered Florida’s marine environment.
Still, Blanco believes banning plastics is not the answer and only hurts small businesses and responsible consumers, but neither his bill nor the Senate bill offer any solution to the current crisis.
“There’s nothing there. This is no rules here at all whatsoever. It’s basically, it’s a free for all. It’s a plastic free for all,” Aguirre said to Blanco.
“It is, it is,” said Blanco. “I understand that, and I have some of the same concerns, but I believe that we have got to start holding people accountable. I think we need to focus on who’s causing the littering. How do we address that?”
“Police cannot enforce litter laws,” said Aguirre. “They have to witness it happening in the moment in order for them to actually issue that citation.”
“You’re absolutely right,” said Blanco. “Now, my question to you, Louis, how do we fix this? How do we really fix it by banning plastic, by telling people they can’t use plastics? I don’t believe that is the solution either.”
Both the House bill and the Senate bill have to pass two more committees before reaching the floor for a vote.
The Senate bill will go before the Community Affairs Committee on Monday.
We’ll keep you updated.
If you want your voice heard on this issue, call or email your state representative or senator. Links to help you do that can be found below.
Contact Rep. Blanco: https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/custom/contactmember.aspx?MemberId=4929&LegislativeTermId=91
Find your State Representative: https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx
Find your State Senator: https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find