Proposal calls for plastic foam ban
Move aimes to protect environment
FORT LAUDERDALE — A ban on plastic foam may be coming to the beach and other public spots in Fort Lauderdale, an attempt to protect the environment and marine life.
That means no coffee in foam cups on the beach. No carryout in plastic foam containers.
The ban would apply to not only the beach but city parks, city buildings and city-owned golf courses and marinas. City vendors also would be prohibited from using plastic foam.
If the ban is approved, people who carry food or drinks in plastic foam — also known as Styrofoam — could be fined anywhere from$100 to $500.
First-time offenders would get a warning. After that, fines start at $100, then go to $200 for a third offense and $500 for a fourth offense.
Commissioners gave initial approval to the proposal Thursday night, but the ban wouldn’t take effect until a final vote later this year.
Vice Mayor Steve Glass--
man, whose district includes the beach, says he’s gotten complaints from residents about litter and plastics on the sand.
“People are always asking me about cleaning up the beach,” he said before the vote. “The most comments I get from my district are about trying to protect the environment.”
Plastic foam, said by experts to take hundreds of years to decompose, has also been banned by New York City, San Francisco, Hollywood, Dania Beach, Miami Beach and Deerfield Beach.
A state law passed in 2016 prohibits cities from banning plastic foam at restaurants, convenience stores, groceries and other businesses.
But Florida municipalities can ban the stuff from public places, including the beach, parks, even streets and side walks.
Cat Uden, South Florida campaign organizer for the Oceana environmental group, praised Fort Lauderdale for taking steps to protect the region’s waterways.
“The Florida Legislature has increasingly taken away our power to reduce singleuse plastics, but there are still actions we can take locally,” Uden said. “Singleuse plastics are over burdening our landfills, choking our waterways, polluting our oceans and accelerating climate change with harmful greenhouse gases. Plastic pollution is a crisis in our oceans, andwe have to take bold action wherew e can.”
Every year, more than 17 billion pounds of plastic leaks into theworld’s oceans and waterways, Uden said. Plastics last for years in the ocean and have been found in every part of the food chain, including the seafood we eat.
“We can’t recycle ourway out of this problem,” she said. “We must reduce plastic at the source.”