Florida SB 240: Auxiliary Containers

Bill Text

240 
Auxiliary Containers 
2025-11-19T06:36:35Z 
Preempting the regulation of auxiliary containers to the state; providing exceptions; requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a uniform ordinance for the use and disposition of single-use, nonrecyclable auxiliary containers; prohibiting the use, sale, or distribution of certain single-use auxiliary containers on such lands; repealing a provision relating to the regulation of polystyrene products preempted to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, etc. 
Committee Substitute 1 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c1 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 240 

 By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and 
 Senators Garcia and Smith 

 592-01204-26 2026240c1 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to auxiliary containers; amending s. 
 3 403.703, F.S.; defining the terms “auxiliary 
 4 container” and “single-use”; amending s. 403.7033, 
 5 F.S.; deleting obsolete provisions; preempting the 
 6 regulation of auxiliary containers to the state; 
 7 providing exceptions; requiring the Department of 
 8 Environmental Protection to develop a uniform 
 9 ordinance for the use and disposition of single-use, 
 10 nonrecyclable auxiliary containers; providing 
 11 requirements for the development of such ordinance; 
 12 requiring that the sale or distribution of single-use 
 13 plastic auxiliary containers on lands managed by the 
 14 Division of Recreation and Parks of the Department of 
 15 Environmental Protection be eliminated to the greatest 
 16 extent possible; prohibiting the use, sale, or 
 17 distribution of certain single-use auxiliary 
 18 containers on such lands; requiring the department to 
 19 develop and make available on its website a statewide 
 20 Marine Debris Reduction Plan; providing requirements 
 21 for such plan; repealing s. 500.90, F.S., relating to 
 22 the regulation of polystyrene products preempted to 
 23 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; 
 24 amending s. 403.707, F.S.; conforming cross 
 25 references; providing an effective date. 
 26 
 27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 28 
 29 Section 1. Present subsections (2) through (33) and (34) 
 30 through (48) of section 403.703, Florida Statutes, are 
 31 redesignated as subsections (3) through (34) and (36) through 
 32 (50), respectively, new subsections (2) and (35) are added to 
 33 that section, and present subsection (35) of that section is 
 34 amended, to read: 
 35 403.703 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term: 
 36 (2) “Auxiliary container” means a bag, cup, bottle, can, or 
 37 other packaging that meets both of the following requirements: 
 38 (a) Is made of cloth; paper; plastic, including, but not 
 39 limited to, foamed plastic, expanded plastic, or polystyrene; 
 40 cardboard and other corrugated material; molded fiber; aluminum; 
 41 glass; postconsumer recycled material; or similar material or 
 42 substrates, including coated, laminated, or multilayer 
 43 substrates. 
 44 (b) Is designed for transporting, consuming, or protecting 
 45 merchandise, food, or beverages from or at a public food service 
 46 establishment as defined in s. 509.013(5), a food establishment 
 47 as defined in s. 500.03, or a retailer as defined in s. 
 48 212.02(13). 
 49 (35) “Single-use” means designed to be used once and then 
 50 discarded and not designed for repeated use and sanitizing. 
 51 (37)(35) “Solid waste” means sludge unregulated under the 
 52 federal Clean Water Act or Clean Air Act, sludge from a waste 
 53 treatment works, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution 
 54 control facility, or garbage, rubbish, refuse, special waste, or 
 55 other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or 
 56 contained gaseous material resulting from domestic, industrial, 
 57 commercial, mining, agricultural, or governmental operations. 
 58 Recovered materials as defined in subsection (29) subsection 
 59 (28) and post-use polymers as defined in subsection (25) 
 60 subsection (24) are not solid waste. 
 61 Section 2. Section 403.7033, Florida Statutes, is amended 
 62 to read: 
 63 403.7033 Regulation of auxiliary containers Departmental 
 64 analysis of particular recyclable materials.—The Legislature 
 65 finds that prudent regulation of recyclable materials is crucial 
 66 to the ongoing welfare of Florida’s ecology and economy. As 
 67 such, the Department of Environmental Protection shall review 
 68 and update its 2010 report on retail bags analyzing the need for 
 69 new or different regulation of auxiliary containers, wrappings, 
 70 or disposable plastic bags used by consumers to carry products 
 71 from retail establishments. The updated report must include 
 72 input from state and local government agencies, stakeholders, 
 73 private businesses, and citizens and must evaluate the efficacy 
 74 and necessity of both statewide and local regulation