10 • 07 • 2014
Melbourne Beach Voluntary Bag Ban
The Sebastian Inlet Chapter has partnered with the Melbourne Beach City Council to craft and implement a voluntary bag reduction program. This is only the second official bag reduction effort in Florida, following St. Augustine's voluntary bag ban in early 2014. Currently, Florida communities are prohibited by state law from banning or taxing plastic bags. The Florida Chapters are currently working to repeal the statewide preemption on bag bans and are passing voluntary measures in the meantime.
Even though the Florida Legislature prohibits local governments from taxing, banning or limiting plastic bags, the citizens and City Council of Melbourne Beach are working together to create a voluntary bag ban for their community. The bag ban is modeled after the City of St. Augustine Beach, which passed a voluntary bag ban in early 2014.