It’s Plastic-Free July!
News Flash! Plastics Recycling is a BIG FAT LIE! The ONLY way to reduce plastic waste is to stop producing it. Don’t believe it?
Watch: Plastics Recycling is a BIG FAT LIE!, The Story of Plastic, Toxic Tours
Listen: NPR Planet Money: Waste Land, How 2 Save a Planet: Recycling! Is it BS?
Read: Plastic Recycling Doesn’t Work and Will Never Work, New Report Reveals that U.S. Plastics Recycling Rate Has Fallen to 5%-6%
It’s not your fault; you’ve been duped by big oil and the petrochemical industry. And now you are being betrayed by profit-focused businesses and the lack of political will from those elected to represent you.
But now the truth is out and YOU have POWER to fight back.
Refuse Plastic Bags and Polystyrene Foam (Styrofoam®) Food Containers
If we won’t take them, eventually retailers and food establishments will stop offering them. Buy eggs in paper cartons, and meat from the meat counter wrapped in paper. At restaurants, refuse polystyrene to-go containers. Bring your own container or demand paper, or aluminum. Better yet, check out YELP’s list of environmentally friendly restaurants. And, in Chicago, if you bring your own reusable bag, you will save the 7-cent bag fee. Always have one (or three) in your pocket, handbag and car just in case. It’s just a habit—you can do this!
Why? Plastic bags and polystyrene are virtually impossible to recycle. Additionally, polystyrene is made from known carcinogens, which is doubly concerning when it comes in contact with hot, greasy food. In the manufacturing process, it is toxic to both the environment and those working around it, and as litter it is toxic to wildlife.
Bring Your Refillable Beverage Container
A thermal container will keep your beverage hot or cold longer than the single-use option. Or buy beverages in glass or cans, which can be successfully recycled over and over again. The trick is getting it all in the recycling bin.
Check Out Our Tips and Tricks
Visit our webpage and try a product or two that is plastic-free and/or plastic packaging-free. We have found products and ideas to start you on your plastic-free journey, but by no means is this a comprehensive list. Be curious, try new products, shop in zero-waste stores, then let us know what you find. And, for maximum impact, get others to do the same. Enlist your family, friends, place of worship, schools, place of business and share ideas with each other.
Make Some Noise
Write or email your alderman, the Chief Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar, and Mayor Lightfoot and demand plastic bags and polystyrene be banned in Chicago. Then send the same request to your state legislator and Governor Pritzker. Research where candidates running for office stand on environmental issues, then use the power of voting to get the right people into office who will be behind good policy. Be annoying, be tenacious, be loud—this is how grassroots change happens.
Want to learn more? Attend an Environmental Action Committee meeting on July 18 and August 15 at 4 pm. Email environment@lwvchicago.org for the Zoom link!