Ban the Bag, Florida!
Did you know that in Florida, it’s against the law for local governments to ban, tax, limit or regulate single-use plastic bags? In 2008, Florida lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting local governments from banning plastic bags. We want to take back our right to regulate single-use plastic bags and keep our beaches free from plastic pollution!
Our Florida Chapters are pushing hard for a repeal of the statewide preemption on bag bans- this would allow local governments to regulate plastic bags locally. In 2010, about 690 thousand tons of High Density Polyethylene “bags, sacks and wraps” were generated in the United States, but only 4.3% of this total was recycled. Plastics comprise up to 90% of floating marine debris, and up to 80% of the plastic in our oceans comes from land-based sources. In addition, plastic bags create unsightly litter that can block stormwater drains and cause costly stoppages at recycling plants. Both of these problems cause unnecessary expense for local governments and taxpayers. That's why over thirty cities and counties across Florida have passed resolutions requesting the ability to regulate plastic bags locally.
In the 2017 Legislative Session we supported the passage of HB93/S162, “Disposable Plastic Bags”. HB93/S162 would allow municipalities with populations under 100,000 to create a pilot program to regulate or ban disposable plastic bags. The pilot program runs until 2020 and is limited to coastal communities. Participating municipalities would have to collect data relating to the impact of the regulation or ban, submit a report to the governing body of the municipality at a public hearing, and provide a copy of the report to DEP. Unfortunately, HB93/S162 did not pass. Surfrider Foundation continues to broadly support preemption repeal and the preservation of home rule in Florida.