INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Indian Rocks Beach leaders are considering a smoking ban on the beach that city officials say is aimed at reducing secondhand smoke and cigarette butt litter along the shoreline.
The proposed ordinance would ban the use of cigarettes and vape devices on the beach. Mayor Lan Vaughan and other city commissioners approved the first reading at a recent meeting.
“One thing we’re looking at is the trash, the cigarette butts that managed to find their way in our beaches,” Vaughan said. “They can’t be picked up by our machinery that actually comes to the beach. They’re literally there. They tend to last forever. We find them in our septic sewer systems as well.”
The ordinance includes penalties for repeat offenders, including up to $500 in fines or up to 60 days in jail.
Devon Francke, education program coordinator for Keep Pinellas Beautiful, said the organization has collected large amounts of cigarette butts during beach cleanups. (Spectrum News/Randy Levine)
“What we’re really looking for is compliance,” Vaughan said. “We want everybody to enjoy the beach and comply and be happy.”
Jenn Privalle, founder of the nonprofit Indian Rocks Beach Trash Tribe, has organized beach cleanups for about five years. She said cigarette butts are the items volunteers find most often.
“Definitely cigarette butts, which is a form of plastic,” Privalle said. “So next to that are other forms of plastic wrappers, plastic bottles, things like that.”
Privalle said volunteers often fill buckets with trash during cleanups, much of it from smoking products.
Devon Francke, education program coordinator for Keep Pinellas Beautiful, said the organization has collected large amounts of cigarette butts during beach cleanups.
“About 150 billion cigarette butts that are littered in our country every year on average,” Francke said while showing collected materials.
Privalle and Francke said cigarette butts can harm birds and other wildlife. They said the leftover trash eventually breaks down into smaller plastics.
Privalle said a ban would be a first step toward conservation.
“It’s definitely a start,” Privalle said. “I think if everyone could just pick up after themselves, there wouldn’t need to be so many volunteers out here picking up plastic and all these toxins off of our shoreline.”
Indian Rocks Beach would join other Pinellas County cities with similar smoking bans, including Clearwater, Treasure Island and Gulfport.
The next reading of the ordinance is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 8 at Indian Rocks Beach City Hall.