Lake Co. retailers making recycling easier

Recycling unwanted plastic bags will be easier for customers at about 70 supermarkets, drugstores and other retailers in Lake County under a newly launched pilot program, officials announced Monday.

Sunset Foods, Walgreens, Jewel-Osco and Lowe's are among the local companies that will put special containers near their front doors for customers to deposit plastic bags. Collected bags will be weighed as part of a study and then recycled so they don't simply end up as garbage in area landfills, officials said.

The program is the work of the Lake County Plastic Bag Recycling Task Force, a group of state and local politicians, retail-industry representatives and others who hope their efforts will expand across Illinois.

"The rest of the state should now step forward and make this a mandate," said state Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat and member of the task force.

The group announced the program with a news conference at the Sunset Foods store in Libertyville. Standing before a specially arranged display of bleaches, paper towels, cups and other products with green or environmentally friendly labels, Link and other task force members proclaimed the need for people - and stores - to recycle plastic shopping bags, wrappers and similar products.

They also promoted the cloth reusable shopping bags that are available for purchase at many area supermarkets and other stores.

"You can never have too many of these," said Lake County Board member Ann B. Maine, a Lincolnshire Republican who's on the task force and has prominently fought to protect the environment.

Such bags have helped reduce the use of plastic shopping bags at Sunset by 24 percent over the last three years, said Thaddeus J. Tazoli, the chain's vice president of marketing.

Butera Market, CVS/pharmacy, JCPenney, PetSmart and Piggly Wiggly stores in the county also are participating in the program, which began in June and will last until the end of the year.

The bags collected by the stores will be weighed to help show their impact on the environment, officials said. The stores' totals will be included in a report task force members hope to bring to the General Assembly for further action.

Of course, many retailers - both large chains and independent stores - aren't taking part. State Rep. Kathy Ryg, another task force member, isn't discouraged.

"As always, things will catch on," said Ryg, a Democrat from Vernon Hills.