SEBASTIAN – It may sound like a ridiculous idea for the City of Sebastian to ban plastic straws, but other municipalities in Florida have already done so.
As of right now, our city has no plans to enact such a ban. Just out of curiosity, we reached out to Mayor Jim Hill to get confirmation.
“We haven’t discussed it,” Hill told Sebastain Daily.
Environmentally conscious cities have been enacting bans on plastic straws after a video began circulating on social media of a turtle with a straw stuck in its nostrils.
Sea turtle advocates say that hotel concessions are littering Florida beaches with plastic straws.
“It has a horrible impact on our marine wildlife and the health of our waterways,” Jennifer Rotker, an activist in Miami, said in a statement.
Recently, Miami Beach enacted a ban to stop vendors from giving straws to people on the beach.
In Orlando, SeaWorld recently removed plastic straws, and so are major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line.
In Brevard County, Satellite Beach wants to enact a ban. City Manager Courtney Barker says most restaurants are on board with phasing out plastic straws.
Cities like Coral Gables, Hollandale Beach, St. Petersburg are all moving forward with a ban.
On Florida’s west coast, the Sanibel City Council unanimously voted to ban all plastic straws, following in the eco-friendly footsteps of Fort Myers.
This movement is rapidly moving along Florida coastal areas.
We took a walk along the river, and while we did see some straws, the problem is minor compared to other Florida cities.