Here in Miami Beach, we have spent a decade trying to eliminate cigarette butt litter in very creative and engaging ways including:

• We’ve produced and handed out 10,000+ reusable pocket ashtrays (made of recycled material of course) (see the pocket ashtray program here)
• We partnered with Surfrider and the City of Miami Beach to deploy 100 pole-mounted ashtrays now capturing tens of thousands of cig butts (see the ashcan program here)
• Walked up and down the beach with conversation-starting ‘Good Butts on the Beach / Bad Butts on the Beach’ signs.

All this time, we’ve continued to lobby elected officials to take on more responsibility, and we were thrilled that City of Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez called and told us he wanted to PROHIBIT SMOKING ON BEACHES AND PARKS (after Florida removed a statewide preemption that prevented us from creating such a regulation). We lobbied the other commissioners and spoke on behalf of the proposal, and it passed 5-1. The ban goes into effect on January 1, 2023. We realize enforcement will be difficult, but we are hoping the conversation gets smokers to realize that cigarette butts are made of non-biodegradable plastic that must be disposed of properly and that the planet (especially our beach) is not just a big ashtray. City communications has already created sandwich board signage at the entrance and is already getting the word out through social media and the local magazine. READ THE SMOKING BAN LEGISLATION

WATCH THE LOCAL 10 NEWS SEGMENT ON THE BAN

100% Plastic Free Soda and Water Contract for the City of Miami Beach

We single-handedly tanked a 10-year renewal of an exclusive beverage contract between Coca-Cola and the City of Miami Beach that would have put an additional 25 million single-use plastic bottles (400,000 pounds) onto our beaches while leaving taxpayers to fund the cleanup and waste removal. Our lobbying of elected officials and direct engagement with PepsiCo led to a new contract that was 100% aluminum for all soda and water products, brought millions of dollars of revenue to the City coffers, AND placed the burden of capturing the infinitely recyclable (and valuable) aluminum onto the manufacturer.

Terms include:

• Plastic-Free for all Soda and Water – PepsiCo partnered with Proud Source Water, which offers a 16oz resealable and refillable aluminum water bottle. The water option is carbon neutral and sourced responsibly.
• Revenue for the City – For the privilege of being the exclusive beverage sponsor, PepsiCo pays an annual sponsor fee in addition to a ‘per case sold’ rebate.
• Effective Recycling – For far too long, large companies financially benefit from sales of their products while passing on the costs of waste collection and disposal to the public (the city spends a small fortune cleaning the beaches and disposing of the tens of tons of trash generated by beachgoers). Because aluminum is so valuable (~.50 per pound), Pepsi is bringing in a 3rd party Replenysh to help recapture the material and get it back directly to PepsiCo to be turned into new beverage cans. Cans made from Recycled aluminum have roughly the same CO2 emissions as plastic (virgin aluminum is significantly higher, which is why capture and recycling is critical).

READ BELOW for the details and video stories:

Full Story:

Miami Beach has wonderful outdoor and public spaces that bring millions of visitors to our beaches, convention center, and cultural facilities. And these guests are thirsty all year round. In 2012, the City of Miami Beach signed an exclusive beverage pouring contract with Coca-Cola which required all city-owned venues, special events, and vendors operating on city property to purchase all non-alcoholic beverages from an established price list. It is a lucrative deal for everyone involved, and Miami Beach is a marque account for any manufacturer. In 2015, as Dave sat as Chair of the City of Miami Beach Sustainability Committee, he asked the City and Coca-Cola to add aluminum versions of their products onto the price list so venues like the Miami Beach Bandshell could achieve their plastic reduction and sustainability goals. This fell on deaf ears, so I marked my calendar for 2021 to engage at the Contract renewal time. In 2021, the Sustainability Committee made a list of suggested ‘requirements’ that the City should ask for at contract renewal, and I even had a meeting with the Coca-Cola team to share what was happening here on the ground with single-use plastics, but they thought greenwashing recycling as the solution would be enough. Unfortunately, cheap single-use plastic is just too integral a part of Coca-Cola’s business model.

I received word that the Contract was basically going to just be a renewal of the current contract, and that was completely unacceptable to me. I downloaded the Coca-Cola presentation and offers from our City’s public meeting notice website, printed it out, made comments highlighting all the flaws of the proposal, and set meetings with the Mayor and commissioners. I clearly demonstrated to each of them how this contract worth 25 million single-use plastic bottles didn’t fit with our City’s sustainability goals and was counter to the Mayor’s #PlasticFreeMB business incentive campaign. One by one, they agreed. Commissioner David Richardson told staff and Coca-Cola that he wouldn’t vote for any contract that had plastic, and the Mayor and other commissioners signed onto the same concept. The current contract no longer had the votes to succeed, and staff was asked to go renegotiate a contract that considered the total value to the city, not just the money – and it had to be plastic-free. Coca-Cola wasn’t willing (or was unable), but PepsiCo leaned in and embraced the idea – winning the final proposal which presented tremendous value for our city.

Other communities, sports facilities, universities and airports have the same type of exclusive beverage contracts, so you can help replicate this where you live.!. If you want a deep dive into the nuances, drop me an email to [email protected]

Channel 10 did multiple segments as the advocacy which set a new direction in favor of PepsiCo’s stated Sustainability Goals. If anyone wants to get into the nuances and how to replicate this in your community, contact [email protected]

Video 1) Miami Beach and Coca-Cola breaking up over plastic bottles

Video 2) Miami Beach breaks up with Coke over plastic bottles, goes with Pepsi

Video 3) Corporate America working to reduce plastic pollution in oceans and streets

Miami Beach Single-use plastics ban! (thanks to our Activism)

Looks like our August 2017 causeway cleanup with then-candidate, now Mayor Gelber made a big impact.  Miami Beach has JUST passed a ban on single-use plastic bags and plastic straws/stirrers on city property. Thank you to Mayor Dan Gelber for initiating this and to Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora for co-sponsoring these items. Miami Beach is committed to working toward being a plastic-free city: Read the Miami Herald Article

Museum of Ice Cream to introduce marine degradable sprinkles! (thanks to our Activism)

Our experience with The Museum of Ice Cream in Miami Beach is another great example of activism at work.  As a result of our viral video, the local coverage and even the national media attention it created, proactive outreach, positive collaborative meetings, plus pressure from west coast counterparts, we are thrilled to announce that change is happening! The Museum has finally found a solution to replace the plastic sprinkles in their sprinkle pools with MARINE degradable sprinkles. They are good people who needed some education and a bit of nudging to finally find the right solution. Success arises when you don’t just walk past a problem. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2018/07/31/museum-ice-cream-sounds-dreamy-but-its-got-big-eco-problem/768766002/

And as you’ve probably heard, there has been a wave of announcements by companies working to reduce and phase out single-use plastics. Not only has Starbucks made big headlines about eliminating plastics straws with their redesigned lids, but some other major players in hospitality are following suit.

Marriott: We were thrilled to hear that our partners at Marriott, who we have led on cleanups with local teams as well as corporate leaders, is taking action across the company to reduce plastic waste

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/marriott-international-ditch-plastic-straws-shampoo-bottles/

Carnival Cruiselines: One of our ICC Site Hosts have also taken a significant pledge

https://cruiseline.com/advice/what-s-hot/news/carnival-stops-including-straws-with-drinks

Disney to Eliminate Plastic Straws, Stirrers, and Styrofoam Cups in All Parks, Hotels, and Cruise Line!

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/disney-eliminate-plastic-straws-stirrers-styrofoam-cup/ 

Adidas joins the fight against plastic

https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/16/news/adidas-using-recycled-plastic-only/index.html

ONE OF THE BIGGEST FOOD COMPANIES IN THE WORLD IS CUTTING 100 MILLION PLASTIC STRAWS BY 2020

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/aramark-reduce-plastic-straws-by-2020

All of this activity shows that the movement is gaining momentum and the tides are changing toward plastic-free seas! Everyone has a role to play: Consumers who practice personal responsibility and reduce their reliance on single-use plastics, governments and elected officials to implement sensible policies and infrastructure improvements and the private sector to step up and do that’s what right and what is needed!

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I did a little unplanned cleanup while on vacation at Blue Springs State Park in Florida the other day when I discovered polystyrene pieces littered where tons of birds hang out just to the left of the canoe rental launch. Come to figure out that the foam pieces came from uncovered foam buoys that the park uses. I’m pretty surprised that a state park – a sanctuary for manatees and other wildlife – would make such an egregious decision on material, but I emailed the park manager and the result is those units are now out of the water and new encapsulated buoys have been ordered. Lesson – If you see something, say something.

Commissioner Ken Russell proclaims May 12, 2016 as “Henry West Lab 5th Grade Class Day” for their work in raising awareness of plastic trash in Biscayne Bay and taking action with shoreline cleanups. Story after the video.

It all started with an exceptional teacher who invited me to come in and give a presentation on Plastic Trash in our Oceans. Part of my presentation encourages them to think big by showing examples of kids being Change Makers. The message got across because they wrote letters to all candidates for the District 2 election in City of Miami. 5 of the 9 candidates came and we showed them one heck of a mess, and it made a serious impact. Once Ken Russell had won and gotten his bearings straight, the kids wrote another letter back and asked to present what they’ve learned in front of the entire commission. He not only invited the entire 5th grade class to come in to speak, but also awarded them their own day.

“These Studies and events sparked a sincere motivation on the part of the fifth-grade class of Henry West laboratory school to do something about the problem, confident that with adequate measures taken on land such as more trash cans along the shoreline, recycling bins, additional maintenance workers, street cleaners, and storm drain covers, much of the trash found in our very own Biscayne Bay can be prevented from every reaching the water. It is, therefore, fitting and appropriate that local officials, on behalf of the citizens of Miami, pause in our official deliberations to lauded and commend the fifth grade class of Henry West Laboratory School for their diligent application to study and their praiseworthy initiative in wishing to work together with our City Commission in order to help solve the problem of uncollected solid waste and pollution along our shoreline”

In a major win for environmental activists (including myself, Michael DeFilippi, Surfrider SoFla, and Biscayne Bay Water Keepers), The City of Miami Beach has voted UNANIMOUSLY to ban Polystyrene food takeout containers from Miami Beach parks and sidewalk cafes. City vendors and restaurants that operate on city sidewalks cannot use the product. The ban was sponsored by Commissioner Michael Grieco who said ““It’s terrible for the environment, it blows around the city, it breaks up, the chemicals are harmful, the wildlife and our fish … eat these things, and it’s time to get with the program”. Miami Beach is the first city in Florida to enact such a prohibition. We even made the evening news : http://www.local10.com/news/commissioners-to-give-final-vote-on-banning-styrofoam-in-miami-beach/27110242 

When you go to a doctor complaining of chest pains, he will say you probably have clogged arteries. But he won’t know how bad it is until he cracks open your chest and sees the arteries. Well, someone video’ed the workers repairing one of the storm drains here in Miami Beach – and HOLY MOLEY !!!.. Watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmKB4TpFjaE

I shared this with the city and they will be installing a pilot of 3 storm drain grating covers to make sure they don’t block the flow of water.

Had a good day lobbying the City of Miami Beach with my allies Michael DeFilippi, Surfrider SoFla, and Sean ‘Birdman’ Gould (Birdmans Trash Initiative) to ban Polystyrene (similar to Styrofoam) Take Out containers and cups. As usual, I decided to bring visual aids – 2 shopping bags full of foam that I picked up in one little area of the canal shoreline on my way to the commission meeting (I always know where I will find trash).

Hit READ MORE to see the video and pictures I brought.. 

In addition to bringing bags of trash, I also gave my elected officials photos really demonstrating the problem.

Watch if you’d like. Check out video 2 of April 23rd meeting (http://web.miamibeachfl.gov/mbtv77/scroll.aspx?id=52532) at the 17 minute mark is my presentation. Minute 27 is Michael. In Hour 3 minute 15, there becomes a lively debate within the commission – but everyone is on-board with trying to solve the problem either through carrot or stick. There may be a state preemption law that prevents us from restricting, but the ideas are flowing. Final result was a WIN of eliminating foam / polystyrene from City offices and a revisit after legal research on whether we can do it legislatively. My favorite part was when Mayor Philip Levine and Commissioner Michael Grieco agreed with my line ‘Let ’em sue us’. I appreciate that these folks recognize the problem and have the guts to take it on.

Dave Doebler presents his findings to the Mayors Special Flood Committee that “Clogged Storm Drains Are Contributing to Street Flooding”which correlates trash from the street level contributing to the major flooding issue the city is preparing to spend up to $400 million on fixing. Until now, no one has discovered that the existing storm drains aren’t allowing water to flow out because they are clogged with trash and not cleaned frequently.

Watch Video of the Flood Mitigation Committee from February 19, 2014 (Video 1 of 1) – starts as minute 0:35 : https://web.miamibeachfl.gov/mbtv77/scroll.aspx?id=78278 

See the full slide deck preso :