State Lawmakers Take Aim At Plastic Pollution
February 19, 2020 1:41PM CST
FILE – This Jan. 14, 2015 file photo shows the the Senate chamber at the State Capitol, in Springfield Ill. t was a big year in the Illinois statehouse with lawmakers ending an historic budget impasse and approving an income tax hike, overhauling how public schools get funding and allowing automatic voter registration. Now, a fresh set of 215 laws takes effect Jan. 1, 2018. The laws cover numerous topics, including the expansion of taxpayer-funded abortions, celebrating Barack Obama’s presidency, allowing tax credits for private school scholarships, criminal justice reforms and a circus-related ban. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman File)
State lawmakers are taking aim at plastic pollution through a series of bills. The package of bills proposed by both legislative chambers plan to tax or ban single-use plastics and aim to boost recycling. The proposals have the support of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Sierra Club of Illinois. A 2016 study by the Rochester Institute of Technology states that nearly eleven million pounds of plastic waste enter Lake Michigan every year.
