PFI Legislative Outreach

We lobby local and regional lawmakers to adopt regulations reducing plastic waste and the use of single-use packaging, containers and utensils.

Cities in FL with plastic straw ordinances:

  1. Ft Lauderdale
  2. Miami Beach
  3. Stuart
  4. Hallandale Beach
  5. Dania Beach
  6. Lauderdale by the Sea
  7. Pompano Beach
  8. Deerfield Beach
  9. Fort Myers Beach
  10. Delray Beach
  11. Wilton Manors
  12. West Palm Beach
  13. Ormond Beach
  14. Pinecrest
  15. Key West
  16. St Pete
  17. Palmetto Bay
  18. Largo
  19. Sunny Isles
  20. Surfside
  21. Marco Island
  22. Sanibel
  23. Key Biscayne
  24. Sarasota
  25. Oakland Park
  26. Palm Beach
  27. Alachua County

 

Cities in FL with other types of plastic/foam ordinances which also may include straws and/or foam and/or utensils etc:  

  1. Hollywood (no plastic or foam east of intracoastal) Hollywood also passed first reading of a single use plastics on city property ordinance on Feb 5th and will most likely pass on second reading in Oct 2020.
  2. Deerfield Beach
  3. Miami Beach
  4. Bal Harbour
  5. North Bay Village
  6. St Pete
  7. Largo
  8. Miami Dade County Parks and Beaches (polystyrene foam)
  9. Key Biscayne beaches and parks (polystyrene foam)
  10. Bay Harbour Islands
  11. Pinecrest
  12. Surfside
  13. Village of Miami Shores- plastic water bottles
  14. Orange County, Florida.  No EPS foam in any new county contracts, including convention center.
  15. Orlando
  16. Dania Beach (foam ordinance city property passed July 2020)
  17. Tampa (city resolution banning foam passed Sept 2020)

Cities that HAD ordinances (bags and/or foam) that were withdrawn 

  1. Coral Gables
  2. St. Augustine Beach
  3. Gainesville
  4. Surfside
  5. Palm Beach

Legislative Outreach Committee – Team Leaders:
Catherine (Cat) Uden, Oceana
Holly Parker, Surfrider
Laura Reynolds, Conservation Concepts, LLC

Oceana is a Florida Plastics-Free Initiative Coalition member that is very active in public policy and change, and a contributor to the Legislative Outreach section of this website. (Thank you, Cat Uden!)

Plastic Free Florida is an unaffiliated movement organized to take action on plastics and foam at the local level. Their new website provides a one-stop shop for Floridians who want to take action to fight the use of single-use plastics, but don’t know where to begin. The movement’s primary focus is on legislative policy, not programs.

The following legislative actions have recently been taken:

September 3, 2020 – Tampa – The city of Tampa moved toward limiting some single-use plastics that pollute the environment, with council members unanimously supporting a ban on distributing foam cups, plates and other items on public property.

August 25, 2020 – Dania Beach – The city of Dania Beach took action to reduce plastic pollution by passing an ordinance to reduce single use expanded polystyrene foam food and beverage packing on city property, city facilities, and city contracts and events.

Organizations and Coalitions working to reduce plastics in Florida through policy change, Statewide:

Oceana
Undivided Planet
Surfrider Foundation
Student PIRGS
League of Women Voters FL
Florida Plastic Free Initiative
Sierra Club FL
Environment Florida
Plastic Pollution Coalition

Southeast:
Florida Keys Environment Coalition
Debris Free Oceans
Friends of Palm Beach
Boca Save our Beaches

Southwest:
Suncoast Rise Above Plastics
Rethinking Plastic

North:
Zero Waste Gainesville
Beaches Go Green

Support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act!

The petrochemical industry and the pollution it creates disproportionately harms people of color and low-income communities. Every year, the United States alone burns or buries in landfill 32 million tons of plastic, impacting the health, wealth, and well-being of frontline and fenceline communities. In fact, the U.S. produces the most plastic waste per capita of any country, and exports much of this waste to the Global South. An astounding 91% of plastic is never recycled.

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Protect Our Ocean From Climate Change

Climate change is altering our ocean and the essential services it provides us—such as a livable climate, fish to eat and important industries like shipping and tourism. But the ocean isn’t only a victim of climate change, it’s also a powerful source of solutions. It can help slow climate change by providing offshore renewable energy and natural carbon storage in critical coastal ecosystems like wetlands and mangrove swamps.

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