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7Agenda Item No:7. City Commission Agenda Item Report Meeting Date: June 19, 2018 Submitted by: Thomas Pepe Submitting Department: City Attorney Item Type: Resolution Agenda Section: RESOLUTION(S) Subject: A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission for the City of South Miami encouraging Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners to ban plastic straws or restrict their use. 3/5 (Commissioner Welsh) Suggested Action: Attachments: Reso re Plastic Straws v.2#s.docx 1 Page 1 of 2 RESOLUTION NO. _________________________1 2 A Resolutionof the Mayor and City Commission for the City of South Miami 3 encouraging Miami-Dade CountyBoard of County Commissionersto ban 4 plastic strawsor restrict their use.5 6 WHEREAS,the straw in theaverage glass of water served in a restaurantwill be used 7 for just a few minutes, but in the environment, it can last more than several lifetimes; and8 9 WHEREAS,wax paper straws wrapped in plastic were successfully used for many 10 decades before the invention of single use plastic straws; and11 12 WHEREAS,plastic straws, though small, cause serious harm to our environment for a 13 number of reasons: it easily finds its way into our waterways due to its lightweight nature, it 14 doesn’t biodegrade, but insteadit fragments into smaller pieces which are frequently mistaken 15 for food by marine animals, and it can’t be recycled; and16 17 WHEREAS,the harmful effects of the unmitigated use of plastic straws and other plastic 18 products are currently being seen in our environment and, once in the environment, plasticenters 19 our food chain where, increasingly, microplastic particles are turning up in our stomachs, blood 20 and lungs–the effects of which are only beginning to be studied; and21 22 WHEREAS,a recent article in National Geographic stated that: “One million seabirds 23 and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually by plastic in our oceans. Forty-four percent of 24 all seabird species, 22 percent of whales and dolphins, all sea turtle species, and a growing list of 25 fishspecies have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies.”1; and26 27 WHEREAS,British Prime Minister, Theresa May, was quoted in a BBC articleon April 28 19, 2018,saying that plastic waste was “one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the 29 world”2; and30 31 WHEREAS,the United Kingdomis part of the growing list of countries thathave 32 banned orwill be banning single-use plastics such as plastic straws; and33 34 WHEREAS,according to a June 5, 2018 article in The Guardian, current projections 35 show that global plastic production will skyrocket in the next 10-15 years. This year alone, 36 manufacturers will produce an estimated 360m tonnes. With a booming population driving 37 demand, production is expected to reach 500m by 2025 and a staggering 619m tonnes by 20303; 38 and39 40 WHEREAS,we are so dependent on plasticin our everyday livesand it will take a 41 movement, a shift in mindset to tackle this problem; and42 43 1 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/features/plastic-straw-single-use-plastics-in-hotels-cruises/ 2 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43817287 3 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/05/the-planet-is-on-edge-of-a-global-plastic-calamity 2 Page 2 of 2 WHEREAS,we each have a part to play in curbing our plastic consumption: 1 individually, we can act as responsible and informed consumers, the private sector can adopt 2 business practices that reflect environmental responsibility, and governments can enact policies 3 that mandate the responsible production and use of plastics; and4 5 WHEREAS,it is time for Miami-Dade County to take a first-step towards actionand 6 ban plastic straws.7 8 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY 9 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA THAT:10 11 Section 1.The Mayor and City Commission forthe City of South Miami encourage the 12 Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners to ban the use of plastic straws or require 13 restaurants to discourage the use of plastic strawsand only provide plastic strawsupon request.14 15 Section 2.The City Clerkshall send a copy of this resolution to each member of the 16 County Commission, the League of Cities, and each municipality in Miami-Dade County.17 18 Section 3.Severability.If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for 19 any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall 20 not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.21 22 Section 4.Effective Date.This resolution shall become effective immediately upon23 adoption by vote of the City Commission.24 25 PASSED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of ______________, 2018.26 27 ATTEST:APPROVED:28 29 ________________________________________________30 CITY CLERK MAYOR31 32 READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM:COMMISSION VOTE:33 LANGUAGE, LEGALITYAND Mayor Stoddard:34 EXECUTION THEREOF Vice Mayor Harris: 35 Commissioner Welsh:36 Commissioner Liebman:37 ________________________Commissioner Gil:38 CITY ATTORNEY39 40 41 3