The Elgin Watchman A Local Environmental Sustainability Podcast Proposed Single Use Plastic Bag Fee Ordinance Take a Stand ... Advocate! Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! Learn more at elginwatchman.com Get engaged on social! facebook.com/TheElginWatchman Presents your guide to the What is the bag fee proposal? What challenges are there? How did we get here? How can you get involved? These answers and more inside! The Elgin Watchman
The Elgin Watchman
Ifyou'vebeenfollowingmyfriends--Tia&Erik--onthepodcast forthelastfewmonths,thenyouknowthey'vebeencoveringthe ElginSustainabilityCommission'seffortstogetcitystaffandthe ElginCityCounciltoadoptaSingleUsePlasticBagFeeordinance.
Hugs & Kisses,
The Elgin Watchman
Dear Elgin Residents & Eco Friends,
Wally The Watchman
Ifyouhaven'tbeenlisteningtothepodcast,thenWTF?Golisten andsubscribe...it'sFREE,forPete'ssake!!!
Wally
Wally The Watchman
My name is Wally The Watchman, and I a " muse " behind The Elgin Watchman podc like to think of myself as Elgin's "Call To Action" on issues important to our community's sustainability.
This guide is my way of summarizing the commission's journey. It is also my way of making it easy for you to KEEP WATCH and, more importantly, GET INVOLVED !
Want to learn more? Click the links below!
From there, your hosts play a round of "20 Questions" to get to the heart of the proposed ordinance. Listen in to hear arguments for and against the proposal!
Microplastics
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Season 1 Episode 5 What are microplastics? Can't we just recycle plastic bags? Aren't paper bags just as bad?
Before discussing the ordinance, the Watchman podcast asks, "why does this matter?" It dives into the studies and effects of microplastics tiny, microscopic bits of broken down plastic that have found their way into our air, bloodstreams, organs, food, and more.
The Continuation
Season 1 Episode 7
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How does the city make decisions with a new ordinance? Who is involved, city staff? Commissioners? Council? How has it worked before? And what other cities have had such an ordinance, and how did they do it?
After covering the May 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting (and the myriad of issues they discussed), Tia & Erik spent another decent chunk of time talking about the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance strategy.
"Updating the bag ban is part of the city’s goal to achieve zero waste by 2050, outlined in the Climate Action and Resilience Plan. City Council passed a resolution declaring a climate emergency in Evanston on April 25." >>
Click the links below to read more about other municipalities' ordinances.
"St. Charles and Batavia could be following in Chicago's footsteps with a new plastic bag fee."
City paused collection of charge, which totals about $5,000 a month, during COVID-19 pandemic."
"Woodstock brings back 10-cent single-use bag fee ·
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"On September 25, 2019 we held “Plastics Pollution: Tackling a Global Issue Locally” at the Centre of Elgin. Out of this forum the Fox Valley Sustainability Network Core Committee met and decided to move forward an initiative to help communities throughout the Fox Valley find a way to institute single-use plastics ordinances to help fight the widespread pollution single-use plastics have caused." >>
Archive
After taking a trip to the archives to see how long plastic bags fee/ban ordinances have been discussed in Elgin (hint: over 7 years!) Erik & Tia called Sustainability Commissioner Jeff Biss, the chair of the Waste Workgroup, to ask a few questions about what was happening.
The Fox Valley Sustainability Network addressed plastics (including plastic bags) at an event in Elgin in 2019. Click to read more and find the resources and case studies from that meeting.
Following June's 2022 Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting, Tia & Erik talked at length about how the issue of a Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance had mysteriously disappeared from that month's commission agenda after being so actively discussed at the last few meetings.
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Season 1 Episode 9
The Silence
[Tish] I am definitely leaning towards what is being proposed. I just have some concerns. Of course. My first and foremost concern is timing. I'll be honest, timing right now is not ideal. Of course, it's never ideal. But you know, we ' re in a situation right now, where we are at a 40 year high with inflation. the economy is really in flux. Gas prices are high and dealing with the effects from COVID, I'm very concerned about the disproportionate impact that this fee would have on our residents, especially our low income residents and our seniors.
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The Undecided Middle 1 Episode 13
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Do bag fees and bans disproportionately affect lower-income people? How do plastics already impact environmental justice communities? Duke University's Environmental Law and Policy Clinic addresses these issues and provides policy guidelines that help mitigate inequity and promote environmental justice.
While the Elgin Sustainability Commission's efforts appear to have stalled, Tia & Erik continue their efforts to advocate for the policy. They turn their attention to interviewing council members to see whether they agree with the commission's work on a Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance. The following is an excerpt of this podcast episode transcript featuring an interview with City Councilwoman Tish Powell, who is undecided about how she might vote on an ordinance like the one being advocated by the Sustainability Commission:
Season
READ THE FULL MEMO HERE
Season 1 Episode 14
In another interview, the Watchman catches up with Councilman Corey Dixon, who has a more optimistic stance. The following is an excerpt of this podcast episode transcript featuring an interview with City Councilman Corey Dixon, who is a likely YES vote on an ordinance like the one being advocated by the Sustainability Commission:
[Corey] I think the assessment of a fee versus an outright ban is a major step in the right direction. And probably just saying no to plastic bags period, is like going all the way, rounding back to home plate. And like going all the way essentially. So, I would want to balance between those two ideas, seeing what the pros and the cons are for each one. You know, I actually lean toward total banning, just that's just my gut reaction now. And once I get more information [from the commission], and there's more analysis and conversations, I might change on that. But just in my spirit, I feel like that may be the way to go. But certainly doing a fee. I don't think that that's necessarily wrong.
The Supportive Leader
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Bans vs Fees Which is more effective? This article from Vox gives some research on the topic.
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[Tom Anonymous] " ... there were countless hours, probably ... two and a half years ... of just volunteer time between commissioners & liaisons from the from the municipality trying to work together to come up with the [reusable bag giveaway] plan ... The cost initially, I think was in the lower multiple of $10,000 ranges. ... [for somewhere between] 10,000 and 20,000 [reusable shopping] bags...A city the size of Elgin, which is over 100,000 [residents], is gonna need several thousand [volunteers]..."
[Erik] "If you can go back in time to the beginning of Woodstock's single use plastic bag fee ordinance ... what would you do differently?
There is significant chatter about the need for the city to provide reusable bags in conjunction with a bag fee ordinance. The Elgin Watchman found a staff person who had worked on a team in another community on a similar project and interviewed him.
16
If city staff said it once, they said it many times, "The commission should talk to other municipalities who have implemented a similar plastic bag fee and/or reusable shopping bag giveaway program." After months of inaction, The Elgin Watchman also found a nonprofit CEO whose organization successfully accomplished both a bag giveaway and a bag fee ordinance in Woodstock, IL. The following is an excerpt of this podcast episode transcript:
The Insider & The Outsider 15 & Episode
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[Cynthia] ... it could have been moved along a little bit more quickly ... there were a lot of times I think that with the education and the talking with retailers could have been shortened."
Episode
The commission unanimously passed the recommendation, but the timeline for delivery to the city council and what the next steps look like are still fuzzy...
Elgin residents came out of the woodwork, attended the August 2022 commission meeting, and raised their voices (literally). They advocated for commissioners to vote that evening to recommend city staff & city council review, revise, and adopt the proposed Single Use Plastic (and paper) Bag Fee ordinance the Waste Workgroup had worked on for more than four years.
The Recommendation Season 1 Episode 17 So...now what? Wally The Watchman has some ideas!
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WallyTheWatchman
Hugs & Kisses Wally
Tish Powell | 224 388 6343 | powell
Nov 2, 2022 @7pm
Dec 7, 2022 @7pm
Oct 12, 2022 @7pm
If you ' ve listened to any of The Elgin Watchman podcasts on this topic, then you know the effort is far from over. This is where YOU need to get involved if this is an issue you care about.
What can YOU do? Next Steps?
Epilogue
Mayor Dave Kaptain | 847 385 4478 | mayor@cityofelgin.org Corey Dixon | 847 450 4847 | dixon
Dustin Good | 224 636 0996 | good d@cityofelgin.org Rose Martinez | 847 302 7961 | martinez
Nov 16, 2022 @7pm
Sept 14, 2022 @ 7pm
Hello again, Elgin !
Dec 21, 2022 @7pm
Would you consider making a phone call AND sending an email to the Mayor and every Elgin city council person? GREAT! Let your fingers do the walking: c@cityofelgin.org r@cityofelgin.org t@cityofelgin.org
Sept 28, 2022 @7pm
Oct 26, 2022 @7pm
Carol Rauschenberger | 847 873 9995 | rauschenberger c@cityofelgin.org Toby Shaw | 773 552 8094 | shaw t@cityofelgin.org John Steffen | 847 741 0503 | steffen j@cityofelgin.org Steve Thoren | 847 840 7319 | thoren s@cityofelgin.org
Would you consider attending city council meetings until they vote on the Single Use Bag Fee ordinance and use the 2 3 minutes every month to speak from the podium to the city council about plastics pollution? GREAT! Then mark your calendar:
The Elgin Watchman An Environmental Sustainability Podcast Get Involved . . . Be Engaged . . . and ALWAYS Keep Watch! Want to get involved in the Elgin Sustainability Commission's Waste Workgroup? Call Elgin Sustainability Analyst Mikala Larson at 847-931-5615 Follow us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! Learn more at elginwatchman.com Get engaged on social! facebook.com/TheElginWatchman
