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Plastic Bag Ban Proposed for Coastal Communities

September 28th, 2015 by flanews

Paper or plastic? The common grocery store phrase could be a thing of the past. As Matt Galka tells us, some environmentally conscious lawmakers have proposed allowing cities near the water the option to ban plastic bags.

You won’t catch Kathleen Turner with a plastic bag. She was on her way into Whole Foods with a reusable bag for groceries and wouldn’t mind seeing the common plastic bag done away with.

“I think the ban is late, I think they should have done it earlier, I think we’re way behind the times,” she said.

Some environmental conscious lawmakers are with her and have filed legislation that could impact plastic bag use in the state.

It won’t be an outright ban but in 2016, lawmakers will consider a bill that could ban the plastic bags around coastal communities.

The proposed bill would give local governments near the water the option of making their own rules or bans on plastic bags.  It’s being pushed as a 2.5 year pilot program.

Environmentalist Julie Wraithmell says the bags wreak havoc on Florida’s ecosystem.

“They do cause tremendous problems for our communities, they effect wildlife, they also effect your tax dollars. When waste water storm drains get clogged, a lot of times these are the culprit,” she said.

She says the bill is a step in the right direction.

“Florida has a long history of letting local governments decide what’s best for their constituents, and as long as local governments are more protective than the state rather than less that’s a good standard,” said Wraithmell.

Some stores have banned the bags already and instead opt for paper or biodegradable bags for customers.

Last year, a proposal was shot down that would have allowed all local governments the option to ban bags, and big grocery stores and pharmacies would have charged customers a dime extra if they didn’t bring their own bags.

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