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Coral Gables could be 1st Florida city to ban plastic bags

Posted at 1:07 PM, Mar 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-15 18:51:26-04

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Officials in a Miami suburb have positioned their city to be the first in Florida to ban plastic bags.

Coral Gables city commissioners gave initial approval Tuesday to an ordinance prohibiting the use of plastic bags by retailers or at special events.

 

The measure still requires a second vote to become law. It includes exceptions for plastic bags brought by shoppers or used to hold prescription medicines, as well as dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags and trash bags.

According to a Miami Herald report, environmentalists packed the commission chambers to support the ordinance.

Florida Retail Federation Regional Director Josie Correa said the city should wait to ban plastic bags until an appeals court rules on the Styrofoam ban the commission approved last year. The federation is appealing a judge's decision upholding that ban.