Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, has been working for more than 12 years on the bill to reduce the use of plastic bags. She believes this is the year it will make it across the finish line.
“(Plastic bags) are a huge percentage of litter,” Walling said. “They clog infrastructure, they’re also very bad for our curbside recycling because people think they can put plastic bags in the curbside recycling bin, and it clogs machines, gets into farm equipment, clogs sewer drains. It’s also terrible for human health and the environment and wildlife.”
In the intervening years, a handful of Illinois cities, including Chicago, attempted to reduce the use of plastic bags by placing a 10-cent fee on single-use bags. It worked in the beginning, but eventually the habit faded, Walling said.
But now, she believes the bill could pass, as it provides a full ban coupled with a uniform fee for paper bags.
IRMA, the trade association for Illinois’ retailors, was opposed to this bill in the past, but through talks with Castro and environmental groups like the Illinois Environmental Council, is now neutral.
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