Several lawmakers are focusing on regulations and fees to curb plastic consumption in the state of Illinois.
Illinois Senator Emil Jones (D-14th District) has proposed Senate Bill 2920, which will place a ban on plastic straws — even if they are made from corn — while Rep. Ann Williams (11th District) and Sen. Melinda Bush (31st District) proposed House Bill 3335, which imposes a 10-cent fee on each carryout bag used by a customer at retail establishments, except in cities with more than 1 million people, which includes only Chicago which has an existing seven-cent tax.
Bush teams with Sen. Heather Steans (D-7th) to introduce Senate Bill 3424, which creates the Illinois Container Fee and Deposit Act, which requires a 5-cent deposit to be paid by consumers on each beverage container sold in the State by a dealer for consumption. Once returned to the dealer or persons operating a redemption center, the deposit will be returned.
Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-17th District) and Sen. Laura Fine (D-9th District) and Heather Steans’ bills — House Bill 5169 and Senate Bill 3677 — ban polystyrene foam, commonly known as styrofoam, by 2022.
Lawmakers alongside Illinois Environmental Council and the Sierra Club of Illinois are looking to reduce the use of plastic in Illinois to provide for healthy public spaces, land and waterways.
According to a 2016 study by the Rochester Institute of Technology, half of the plastic pollution entering the Great Lakes — 5,000 metric tons per year — goes into Lake Michigan, followed by Lake Erie with 2,500 metric tons and Lake Ontario with 1,400 metric tons.
“All of the research points to the extreme risk of plastic pollution in our waterways and it is time to effect meaningful change to protect our resources and communities,” said Rep. Williams.
The laws seek to ban polystyrene by 2022, require single-use plastic serviceware be provided only by request or at a self-serve station, create a statewide container deposit, incentivize state procurement of recyclable and compostable materials while also imposing a statewide 10-cent carryout bag fee.
“Clean water is a basic human need, which is why we’re taking this fight for plastic-free water to the General Assembly,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. “Policies that aim to reduce single-use plastics have been successful in other states, and it’s time for Illinois to step up and lead the Great Lakes region in reducing harmful plastic pollution in our communities.”
Plastic carryout bags are banned statewide in California, Hawaii and Oregon. Major cities New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Seattle also ban or tax plastic bags.
Many chain stores in Illinois already provide a place to recycle plastic bags.
HB3335 ensures that 3-cents of the fee will go back to the retailers, and the rest will go to various environmental funds. The carryout bag fee does not apply to the use of carryout bags that are used to carry items purchased pursuant to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or a similar governmental food assistance program.
A University of Chicago study found that Chicago’s bag tax significantly reduced disposable bag use and increased reusable bag use within the first month of the tax.
