OUR MISSION
TO ELIMINATE THE USE OF PLASTIC IN THE COMMUNITY
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retailer support, research, education, and local ordinance.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Reduce Plastic Usage
Start with small changes that you can make at home.
Reduce plastic usage around your food
– bring non-plastic reusable bags to the stores
– use glass, ceramic or stainless steel containers to hold your food
– switch to non-plastic kitchen utensils
Check the labels of your clothes
– gradually replace your clothes made of synthetic fabric, such as nylon, polyester, and rayon with natural fabric such as cotton, silk, wool, and linen.
Donate Paper Bags
Donate to our Paper Bag Collection for reuse in the stores.
Reduce Waste Chicago is collecting clean undamaged brown paper bags for Reuse-a-Palooza at The Plant, 1400 S 46th Street, Chicagoon March 15, 11-3 pm.
Joseph Sears School will be collecting paper bags for us starting April 6.
Support State Legislation
There are 4 plastic-related bills in the IL legislature.
SB1531 Farewell to Foam – Colation for Plastic Reduction has been working on the bill for the last 5 years. Lobby Day is on April 8. You can join CPR to lobby on April 8. Register here. You can also speak to legislators about the POWER Act (Data Centers) and the Wetlands Bill.
HB1600 Skip the Stuff – require restaurants to only provide plastic utensils, napkins and condiments upon request.
HB4418 EPA Stormwater Plastic Pellets – EPA to require facilities getting a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to control plastic pellets or other preproduction plastic materials in stormwater runoff from their facilities.
SB1872 Plastic Bag Reduction Act – prohibits retail stores from offering single-use checkout bags to customers.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
Retailer Support
We helped Geetha Foods has eliminated plastic shopping bags at their store.
Winnetka Farmers’ Market sold 200 – 100% cotton bags on Saturdays through Oct. 25, 2025.
Paper Bag Collection for reuse in the stores.
A big Thank You to Reduce Waste Chicago for collecting paper bags at Sustainability Market and at Reuse-a-Palooza. They collected 643 reusable paper bags for us!!
We previously had a large donation of new paper bags from Evanston District 65.
Research
Patch article by Ivy Sundell, What Does Your Health Have to Do with Plastic?
Other articles:
ScienceDaily, Could Plastic in Your Foods be Fueling Alzheimer’s?
New Yorker, How Plastics Are Poisoning Us
Ecology Center, About BPA and BPS in Receipt Paper
CNN Health, Common Household Plastics Linked to Global Deaths from Heart Disease
NPR, Should You Toss Your Plastic Kitchen Tools for Health Reasons? Here’s the Scoop
California Attorney General, Plastic Bag Manufacturers Settle Claim that Plastic Bags are Recyclable in the State.
See more articles on the Research page.
Education
We have made presentations on What to Use Instead of Plastic at the Skokie Library, North Shore Senior Center, and Niles Senior Center.
We plan to speak with the Junior High students at Joseph Sears School for the Earth Day events.
An 17-min excerpt of Dr. Robert Sargis’ presentation on Plastics & Human Health at Sketchbook.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook
for Tips Tuesday… Find plastic alternatives in your daily life.
…and Health Friday. Understand how plastic is linked to all major medical illnesses.
Local Ordinance
Skokie
We suggested a plastic bag ban in retail stores in the recent Skokie strategic plan survey. We put together options and considerations for them to review.
Kenilworth
We are exploring ways to have the few retail stores switch to non-plastic bags.
Park Ridge
We are working with Go Green Park Ridge to speak at their senior community center, and to work together on the plastic bag ban.
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