Robert Singleton spends his evenings using a metal detector looking for treasures along Jacksonville Beach, but some days he ends up just picking up trash.
“The plastic bags are a danger to the turtles and other sea life. I don’t see them often, but they are definitely here, hidden in the dunes,” said Singleton.
Environmentalists say plastic bags are becoming more and more common on Florida’s beaches, and they are pushing lawmakers to take action.
Michael DeFilippi believes state law is catering to big retailers. He is among a growing group of activists who are demanding change. In recent months, California and Hawaii passed laws banning plastic bags in some places, but in Florida state law prevents local governments from taking any action to reduce them.
“No city, or municipality in its proper term, can regulate or ban plastic bags, and we feel local officials should have the ability to protect their beaches,” said DeFilippi.
In March, Fernandina Beach leaders passed a resolution, hoping to be part of a pilot program that would give them more control over the amount of bags distributed locally, but state lawmakers later voted down that proposal.
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DeFilippi is now hoping more communities, like Jacksonville Beach, will support a similar bill next session.
Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham told Action News that he is aware of the concerns surrounding plastic pollution, and he plans to begin discussing various options with council members next month.
For now Latham, and Singleton, are asking beachgoers to take caution as the holiday weekend approaches.
“To anyone coming to the beach, please pick the bags up and throw them away and make it a cleaner and safer environment for all,” said Singleton.
The Florida Retail Federation issued this statement regarding plastic bags in December 2014: “The Florida Retail Federation supports current Florida law, which designates the state government as the regulator of plastic and paper bags and preempts local regulation. Local efforts to tax, ban, and regulate bags have the potential to impact citizens, businesses, tourists, and even a plastic bag manufacturer providing quality jobs in the state of Florida. The preemption insures that any regulation of retail bags will occur in a consistent and measured manner that takes into consideration all of the interests at stake.”
California was the first state to ban the use of plastic bags, but in February lawmakers put that decision on hold and are now leaving it up to the voters to decide.
WJAX
