Grayslake girl going to Quinn over plastic bags
SPRINGFIELD — It was the ubiquitous plastic shopping bags flying around her neighborhood and scattered along the road that made Abby Goldberg want to ask her village of Grayslake to ban them.
“We can see them in the trees,” the 12-year-old said.
Goldberg’s drive for a ban started as a simple project at Prairie Crossing Charter School. But now she’s planning to go to Chicago on Tuesday with more than 150,000 petition signatures gathered online and ask Gov. Pat Quinn to veto legislation that would create a statewide recycling program for the bags and disallow local bans in the process.
The proposal has been a contentious one in Springfield this year. It’s based on a Lake County pilot program and would force plastic bag manufacturers statewide to recycle more material, a move supporters say will keep 500 tons of material out of landfills like the one in Grayslake.
But as a statewide plan, it wouldn’t let towns ban the bags.
She collected the petitions with help from Change.org and a social media push. And Quinn’s staff plans to meet with her Tuesday.
“The governor’s office will meet with her and listen to her concerns,” said Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson. “We just received this legislation today and are reviewing it.”
State Rep. Mike Tryon, the Crystal Lake Republican who sponsored the plan, said it’s a “very good thing” that a 12-year-old like Goldberg would want to get involved with government.
Still, he disagrees with her. Tryon says plastic bags make up only 15 percent of the plastic waste covered under his plan, so a ban wouldn’t do as much good as an increased recycling plan. The legislation also covers plastic film like shrink wrap.
“So you’re going to ban only 15 percent of the problem,” Tryon said.
Lawmakers approved Tryon’s plan earlier this year, and he said he’s not sure what Quinn is inclined to do with it. If it becomes law, the recycling plan would last four years, and when it runs out, towns could in theory ban or tax plastic bags if they wanted. But Tryon thinks recycling is the way to go.
“Keeping them out of the landfill is the objective,” he said.
Goldberg said if Quinn signs the legislation, she’ll probably have to find a different school project, maybe trying to get local small businesses to voluntarily stop using the plastic bags. Either way, she said she’s learned a lesson about government.
“I’ve learned that no matter what your age, you can make a difference.”
Bags: Girl has meeting with Quinn Tuesday