With Oak Park’s single-use bag tax taking effect on January 1, 2018, now is a great time to make carrying reusable bags a habit.
Over the next few months, Green Community Connections will be launching a bag share project. If you have extra reusable bags, you will be able to leave them at one of the bag locations. If you need a bag, or you’re out and about and realize you’ve forgotten yours, you can swing by a bag location and grab a one.
Take a peek at our new video encouraging students from grade 3 to college age to enter the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest. In addition to winning cash prizes, all winning films will premiere at the One Earth Film Festival in March 2018. More details here.
Video animation by 2013 contest winner Léa Kichler. Music by Abby Lyons.
The Village of Oak Park has unanimously passed an ordinance requiring stores over 5000 square feet to charge 10¢ a single-use bag. The new rule goes into effect on January 1, 2018, and will apply to both paper and plastic bags. The new 10¢ fee will be evenly split between the retailer and the Village, with the Village’s share earmarked for “environmental sustainability initiatives” which have yet to be named.
We've seen the images of seagulls caught in plastic bags, microscopic plastic beads in plankton, and the Great Norther Pacific garbage patch. Plastic is so ubiquitous that cleaning up our enormous mess sometimes seems hopeless. But three opportunities are available for those with a heart to make a difference.
Summer is upon us and with it the annual block party season. Block parties are a special part of celebrating community and our wonderful outdoor spaces. It’s also a great way of recognizing and celebrating the many sustainability initiatives and resources in our community – whether it’s native or edible gardens, backyard or curbside composting (offered through the villages of Oak Park and River Forest), solar panels or learning about the awesome trees on your block. By shining a light on these important community assets, we encourage one another and help to build a more resilient future for our children.
The One Earth Film Festival's film, "The TrueCost," inspired us to look for ways to act, and we found Fashion Revolution Week (April 18-24), a week of activism designed to build awareness about the true costs of fashion, including social injustice and environmental degradation.
Will you join us? Two easy steps:
1. Take a picture of the tag of your favorite clothing.
2. Tweet or post it to the fashion brand or store's social media account with the hashtag:
#WhoMadeMyClothes
PlanItGreen is launching a campaign to make a big reduction in the amount of material we send to the landfill. The PlanItGreen sustainability plan outlines a goal to divert 50 percent of Oak Park and River Forest “waste” away from landfills by 2015 and into compost and recycling, where it becomes a resource.
It was through Green Community Connections that I first learned of the ReBuilding Exchange. I don’t remember who told me about it, or when I first came across this organization. All I remember is falling in love with its mission, and feeling grateful that there are people so dedicated and committed to making the world a better place.
