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SURFSIDE, Fla. – Keeping South Florida beaches pristine and clean of harmful debris is a work in progress for people like Jennifer Rotker.

For nearly four years, Surfside has banned single-use plastics, such as straws, thanks to past efforts by Rotker and other marine activists.

However, there was talk of repeal by the new town Commissioner Nelly Velasquez, who believes paper alternatives are more harmful than plastics, writing paper goods destroy trees.

She ultimately had a change of heart, saying her choice of wording for the measure was a mistake.

“My intention was not to bring back plastic straws, my intention was to find other items that were not paper, like bamboo,” she said.

Rotker believes using a bio-sourced paper should be the middle ground.

“The possibility of backsliding when Surfside was the first Miami-Dade municipality to pass a straw ban, which lead to Miami Beach and Sunny Isles adopting such legislation, just seems heartbreaking and sad,” Rotker said.

Another topic of discussion Tuesday night was the idea of allowing fishing at the end of the Bayside streets and repealing an ordinance that bans gas-powered leaf blowers.

“They’re at the absolute opposite of environmentally friendly. They’re kind of dangerous,” Rotker said.

The possible return of all those plastic straws was the biggest concern for Rotker as many of them end up in the ocean and into marine life.

A change in the law would have meant the signs reminding beachgoers about the plastic rules and to restrict light at night would come down.

“The straws just blow and because they are so light, they can’t be recycled,” Rotker said.

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Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.

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