Marine Debris Policy Recommendations for COTF 11/6/2014

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1 Marine Debris Policy Recommendations for COTF 11/6/2014 Marine Debris Committee Members: Jeff Torode, Ed Tichenor, Tanya Tweeton, Scott Stripling, Laura Vasques, Holly Parker, Jamie Zunno The impacts of Marine debris are costly, far- reaching, and increasingly severe. They range from economic impacts from unsightly, polluted beaches, to wildlife impacts due to entanglement or ingestion, to ecological impacts, and more. According to a 2011 study by the Ocean Conservancy, the top ten marine debris items are: 1. Cigarettes and cigarette filters 2. Plastic beverage bottles 3. Plastic bags 4. Caps/lids 5. Food wrappers & containers 6. Cups, plates, forks, knives & spoons 7. Glass beverage bottles 8. Straws & stirrers 9. Beverage cans 10. Paper bags Recently, the West Coast Governors Agreement on Ocean Health proposed a goal of working toward zero debris entering the marine environment from land and zero impact from debris entering the marine environment at sea. To meet this ambitious goal, they have proposed a number of objectives from public education on the impacts of single use plastics to data collection to regulation of the most frequent types of marine debris. Florida, like the West Coast Governors Agreement on Ocean Health, has the opportunity to be a leader in marine debris prevention and remediation. Recognizing that this is such a broad issue area, the following are policy recommendations to deal with only some of the top ten marine debris items listed above. Other Areas of concern are: Marinas Storm water runoff Balloons (cruise lines) United States Coast Guard Marine Debris Policy Recommendations 1. Cigarette Litter: Short Term: Encourage the placement of visible cigarette receptacles at public access points, dune crossovers and popular beach sites. Short Term: Promote education and outreach efforts to inform smokers of the ecological, public health, and aesthetic impacts of cigarette litter.

2 Long Term: Work with Florida Legislature and local municipalities to implement smoking bans on beaches. Increase shoreline cleanup efforts. Develop a state smoking ban on all beaches and parks (as Sarasota attempted) designating parking lots and picnic shelters only as smoking areas. Enforce violation by issuing citations and tickets. 2. Straws/Stirrers, plastic utensils, plastic food- ware: Short Term: Work with beachside restaurants and businesses to limit single use plastics and switch to compostable or reusable alternatives. Long Term: Follow the model set by Miami Beach and ban plastic straws from beachside use. 3. Expanded Polystyrene Foam (EPS) Short Term: Ban use of EPS foam food ware at all beachside establishments. Short Term: Ban use of EPS foam coolers on beaches. Long Term: Expand EPS foam food ware bans on beaches to cover coastal counties in the region. 4. Plastic, glass and recyclables: Short Term: Encourage the placement of visible recycling receptacles at public access points, dune crossovers and popular beach sites. Short Term: Encourage frequent recyclable pick up and mandate additional pickup after special events or large beach holidays (e.g.- 4 th of July, Labor Day, etc.). Long Term: Work with Florida Legislature and municipalities to create a statewide bottle bill or container deposit law. 5. Plastic bags: Short Term: Due to a current preemption on local bag bans, municipalities are encouraged to adopt voluntary bag bans encouraging businesses to use only reusable bags. Long Term: Following examples set by California and Hawaii, the Florida Legislature must work to eliminate the proliferation of single use plastic bags in Florida through a statewide ban. For additional perspectives, the following are sample solutions employed around the world to reduce the use of plastic bags in Quebec- Ontario, Ireland, Taiwan, and Germany. Require Customers pay between 5 to 20 cents for each plastic bag. Proceeds to be shared between the stores and environmental groups to pay for recycling centers and landfill cleanups. Impose taxes on producers, importers and retailers of plastic bags who in turn, charge the customers. Make customers pay 10 cents for each single use bag. Exchange 1 lb of rice or beans for every 25 plastic bags brought back to the store. Ban plastic bags altogether.

3 Provide reusable bags at outreach and education events at little or no cost to consumers. Stakeholder Outreach & Education: Florida Legislature Continue to educate decision- makers on the ecological, aesthetic, and economic impacts caused by marine debris. Dirty beaches lead to decreased tourism and revenue for local and state government. Public Outreach and Education: Develop a single uniform message throughout the four county region promoting recycling and single use plastic reduction through PR and awareness campaign (e.g- anti- littering billboards, recycling promotion on public bus wraps, etc.), and through a regional public working group. Encourage public data collection by partnering with local beach cleanups, non- profit partners, and municipalities to collect uniform marine debris data (e.g.- use NOAA s marine debris tracking app). Create a public working group to implement additional educational campaigns for each city. Waste Management : Long Term: Work with WM and municipalities to prevent and reduce the amount of debris entering the ocean. Ask WM and municipalities to promote more education to the public around reduction, reuse and recycling efforts to reduce the amount of material potentially lost to the Marine environment. Display better signage at all recycling bins and add more recognizable and uniform recycling bins at public places, especially on the beaches. Color code trash bins in beaches and in all public places such as schools, malls, libraries, supermarkets, etc. for better identification of trash separation in the bins by the public. Emphasize cooperation by the public by explaining the public benefits of recycling through the use of signage. Through building partnerships, investigate the possibility of partnering with producers of bottles, EPS, plastic bags to generate funds through Extended Producer Responsibility also known as product stewardship. Identify the gaps in enforcement where greater collaboration or support from local and state elected officials would help effect improved enforcement efforts. Improve the enforcement of local litter laws. Marinas: Place colorful recycling bins with lids on docks for staff and customers. Clearly label recycling bins and make sure that they are accessible. Ask boaters and fishermen to cooperate by bringing their trash back to the docks.

4 Encourage boaters to set up an onboard system to segregate trash for easy disposal and recycling on shore. Promote and utilize waste and oil recycling at docks, marinas and ports. Promote education and outreach to reduce the impacts of derelict fishing gear by partnering with impacted industries, anglers, and commercial fishermen. Ask marinas to offer educational workshops/classes on marine debris and pollution issues. Provide additional education and outreach for boaters on the importance of utilizing pump out stations. Work with all marinas to make sure they can provide pump out stations, or are able to direct boaters to adjacent facilities. Promote the creation and support of grants and funding opportunities to help marinas obtain financing for pump- outs facilities. Support increased enforcement and education efforts by the Coast Guard to reduce illegal dumping by recreational boaters and marinas. United States Coast Guard: The Coast Guard has the authority and responsibility to act when there is a hazard to navigation, pollution or threat of pollution from oil or hazardous material. They have the authority to levy fines for those who violate the laws. As practicable, support increased monitoring and enforcement of recreational boaters and tankards of their dumping practices in ports and docks by the USCG. Closely monitor the use of chemical dispersants used to render the oil spills harmless. Support any federal efforts to increase appropriations and funding support for USCG monitoring programs. Work with U.S. Coast Guard to increase public education and awareness of the impacts of marine debris. Promote public awareness of the Coast Guard National Response Center at (800) to make formal reports on those who do not comply with regulations. Make USCG National Response Center contact information readily available near the recycling bins on the docks of the marinas. Municipalities: Land based sources of pollution accounts for almost 70% of marine debris. Work to upgrade and improve municipal sewage systems. Promote cost- sharing measures to allow builders and developers to offset costs for new sewage hookups, and maintenance of the city waste treatment systems. Promote increased monitoring and maintenance of storm water drains. Collaborate on an outreach and education campaign targeting boaters and anglers on the impacts of marine debris. Meet deadlines and requirements for the closure of existing wastewater disposal ocean outfalls by 2025, per 2008 Ocean Outfall Legislation. Insist that Broward in particular, and other counties comply with regulations to re- use at least 60 percent of the wastewater,(sewage) mainly by putting it through a higher level of treatment and offering it for irrigation in Broward County.

5 Insist that Broward and all other counties continue the plan to retrofit water lines and improve their treatment systems to make more use of wastewater, capture storm water for irrigation purposes, thereby reducing the amount of polluted stormwater that ends up on the ocean. Supporters: Tanya Tweeton Volunteer/Organizer South East Florida Sierra Club Marine & Water Quality Team Ed Tichenor,Director Palm Beach County Reef Rescue Holly Parker Florida Regional Manager Tracy Conklin Chair, Palm Beach County Chapter Jamie Zunno Vice Chair, Broward Chapter Scott Stripling Chair, Miami Chapter Jeff Torode, President South Florida Diving Headquarters Pompano Beach,Florida Laura A. Vasquez FYN Coordinator UF/FAS Miami- Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources(RER) Homestead, Florida