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 and your family/friends 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
– switch to non-plastic cutting boards
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 just collected clean undamaged brown paper bags for us at their Reuse-a-Palooza event at The Plant, 1400 S 46th Street, Chicago on March 15.
Joseph Sears School will be collecting paper bags for us from April 6 – May 15.
Kenilworth Union Church will be collecting paper bags for us from April 12-26.
Join Events
Sunday, April 26, 12-3 pm. Meet author, Nicole Pacini at The Unwaste Shop, 1108 W Madison, Chicago.
May 1-3, Rosemont. Trashy Craft Market organized by Nowhere Collective.
July 18-25. Chicago Climate Week. Stay tuned.
Watch The Plastic Detox on Netflix. The movie is about 6 couples with infertility. After staying away from plastic for 90 days, three couples were able to conceive.
Support State Legislation
There are 4 plastic-related bills in the IL legislature.
SB1531 Farewell to Foam – Coalition for Plastic Reduction has been working on the bill for the last 5 years. See Chicago Tribune article. You can speak to legislators about this bill, as well as the POWER Act (Data Centers) and the Wetlands Bill.
Find your rep here. Remember, we only are focused on the House as foam has already passed the Senate. If your rep supports, call to thank them. If your rep doesn’t support, call to ask what would change their mind.
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 eliminate 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.
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 present to the Planet Panther Club at Joseph Sears School for the Earth Day events.
April 30, Sketchbook Brewing Co. Ivy will be speaking to the Citizens Utility Board members about the health impact of plastic.
A 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 are working with Go Green Skokie and a trustee to discuss ways to introduce e plastic bag ban.
Kenilworth
We are exploring ways to have the few retail stores switch to non-plastic bags.
The Plant, Chicago
With the help of The Plant manager, we are working with a few of the tenants at The Plant to replace their plastic wraps, trays and containers with alternatives.
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