No. HB 575
Filed under Environment & Water.
Auxiliary Containers; Defines "auxiliary container" and "single-use"; removes obsolete provisions; preempting regulation of auxiliary containers to state; provides exceptions; requires DEP to develop uniform ordinance for use and disposition of single-use, nonrecyclable auxiliary containers; provides requirements for development of such ordinance; requires that sale or distribution of single-use plastic auxiliary containers on lands managed by Division of Recreation & Parks of DEP be eliminated to greatest extent possible; prohibits use, sale, or distribution of certain single-use auxiliary containers on such lands; requires department to develop and make available on its website statewide Marine Debris Reduction Plan; provides requirements for such plan; removes s. 500.90, F.S., relating to regulation of polystyrene products preempted to DACS.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDThe old blanket ban on local plastic-bag and container rules is replaced with a narrower one: local governments still cannot regulate auxiliary containers generally, but can now restrict single-use plastics or glass on public property, and can keep ordinances passed before 2026.
The Department of Environmental Protection must write a uniform ordinance for single-use, nonrecyclable containers after public workshops, for local governments to adopt voluntarily, finished by October 1, 2027.
On land run by the Division of Recreation and Parks, single-use containers with polystyrene foam are banned outright, and single-use plastic containers must be phased out as much as possible.
By the end of 2026, the department must publish a statewide Marine Debris Reduction Plan online. Section 500.90 of the Florida Statutes is repealed outright, with no replacement text.
AILocal governments still generally cannot regulate auxiliary containers, but the old exception-free preemption is replaced with one that lets local rules stand in three cases: glass restrictions on public property, single-use plastic restrictions on public property, and ordinances already enacted before January 1, 2026.
AIFor the first time, a city or county may restrict the use, sale, or distribution of single-use plastic auxiliary containers within the boundaries of its own public property, such as parks or beaches, without being preempted.
AIOn any land managed by the Division of Recreation and Parks, single-use auxiliary containers made with polystyrene foam may no longer be used, sold, or distributed.
AIAny local rule, regulation, or ordinance restricting the use, sale, or distribution of auxiliary containers that was already enacted before January 1, 2026 stays valid regardless of the general preemption.
AIThe department must write a uniform ordinance addressing single-use, nonrecyclable auxiliary containers, covering bans, fees, deposit systems, and enforcement mechanisms, for local governments to adopt if they choose, finalized by October 1, 2027.
AIThe sale or distribution of single-use plastic auxiliary containers on Division of Recreation and Parks land must be eliminated to the greatest extent possible, though no firm deadline or percentage is set.
AIBy December 31, 2026, the department must publish online a statewide plan covering data collection, infrastructure and policy gaps, litter-reduction strategies, funding, and a competitive grant program for local governments and nonprofits.
AISection 500.90 of the Florida Statutes is eliminated outright; the bill's own document does not restate what that section covered or supply replacement language in its place.