Satellite Beach launches campaign against plastic bags
Satellite Beach is joining a barrier-island campaign to try to keep plastic throwaway bags off the beaches — and out of the stomachs of unsuspecting sea turtles.
Last week, the Satellite Beach City Council unanimously voted to partner with the Surfrider Foundation's Sebastian Inlet chapter and spend $5,000 for reusable shopping bags, which will be distributed to residents free of charge.
The Surfrider chapter launched a similar anti-plastic-bag program in July 2015 in Melbourne Beach, teaming up with Town Hall and the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Volunteers handed out more than 3,000 reusable bags, according to Mike Daniel, Surfrider chapter chairman.
Josh Pause is the Surfrider chapter's tech lead, and he is a member of the Satellite Beach Sustainability Board. Displaying a white disposable shopping bag, he told the City Council that the sacks do not biodegrade in the Atlantic Ocean.
Rather, they photodegrade in the sunshine, breaking up into tinier and tinier pieces.
“This is just a catastrophe for the environment. It hurts everything from photosynthesis on up. Long story short, little fish eats the particle. Bigger fish eats that. Bigger fish eats that," Pause said.
"You go get some mahi, now you’re eating some plastic bags,” he said.
Melbourne Beach targets plastic bags to help sea turtles
The $5,000 expenditure will come from the city's recycling trust fund. The Satellite Beach Woman's Club is interested in partnering as the organization's annual community project, City Manager Courtney Barker said, and officials also will approach the Satellite Beach Lions Club.
Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker said the city will launch a Facebook community challenge and work with Satellite Beach Publix managers to set a plastic-bag inventory reduction goal, perhaps 20 percent. She said Publix would save money in bag purchases by participating.
Because the program is voluntary, Councilman Steve Osmer said it should receive a better reception than mandatory programs elsewhere in the country. While shopping in San Francisco, he said he was charged 25 cents per plastic bag.
“I think it’s great. You read anything on plastics, it’s pretty scary," said Mayor Frank Catino, a fly-fishing guide.
Indialantic may dim lights earlier for leatherback turtles
Single-use plastic bags resemble jellyfish when floating in the ocean, so sea turtles can mistakenly eat them. Satellite Beach officials plan to install a reusable-bag distribution kiosk inside the David R. Schechter Community Center. This kiosk also will accept disposable plastic bags for recycling and cash donations.
"With turtle nesting season on us again, the bags in the marine environment directly harm the sea turtles. We have a huge aggregate of turtles off of our coast right now," Daniel said.
"The fewer plastic bags that are distributed, the fewer opportunities there are for them to escape and get into our marine environment," he said.
In January, a World Economic Forum-Ellen MacArthur Foundation report concluded that the world's oceans will contain more plastic than fish, as measured by weight, by the year 2050, USA TODAY reported.
Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter
Indialantic reusable bags
The Surfrider Foundation's Sebastian Inlet chapter offers free reusable shopping bags at the Sea Turtle Preservation Society storefront at 111 S. Miramar Ave. in Indialantic.