Grayslake Central student behind Lake County reusable bag campaign

Grayslake Central High School student Abby Goldberg has brought her reusable shopping bag campaign to a higher level.

After working with government leaders, Goldberg achieved her goal of Lake County declaring April as Bring Your Own Bag Month.

In a resolution passed by the Lake County Board and signed by Chairman Aaron Lawlor on March 8, residents and businesses are urged to participate by using reusable shopping bags throughout April, instead of accepting the plastic or paper varieties supplied by stores.

"Plastic bags often become public nuisances in the form of litter and pollution in Lake County waterways, storm drains and wastewater treatment plants," the resolution reads in part.

Goldberg, an environmental activist, approached Lake County after convincing Grayslake to declare last September as Bring Your Own Bag Month. She said she's excited it appears Lake County will do more to create awareness about Bring Your Own Bag Month than Grayslake did for the effort.

"It might not have gone well with the village, but I was able to use it as an example for the Lake County Board," said Goldberg, a high school junior. "So, that's good. The (county) board will be doing a lot more to promote it, like talking to their retail partners, making a video and putting it all out on social media. Plus, the board has a sustainability coordinator."

Lake County's sustainability coordinator, K.C. Doyle, said a social media campaign, in collaboration with Walgreen Co., will be part of the effort to promote the benefits of reusable bags instead of paper or plastic. The county also has a special logo.

While the Grayslake Bring Your Own Bag Month included a festive day at the village's Jewel-Osco, Doyle said Lake County will focus on creating awareness in the inaugural effort. She said the county has a "green team" that intends to form ideas for events as part of Bring Your Own Bag Month in 2017.

Doyle said she has been impressed with Goldberg since working with her for the campaign. The two met as recently as Monday.

"Abby is such an inspiration not only to other Lake County teens, but to Lake County as a whole," she said.

Goldberg was an elementary school student when she received attention for prodding former Gov. Pat Quinn into vetoing legislation in August 2012 that would have created a statewide plastic bag recycling program and disallowed local bans on those bags in the process.

"Lake County may never ban the bag, but educating the public about the issue is just as important," she said.