County Board Supports Reusable Shopping Bag Program

A press release from the McHenry County Board:

McHenry County Board Supports Environmental Defenders of McHenry County BYOBag Program; Proclaims August 2016 as COUNTY WIDE BYOBag Month

Woodstock, IL – July 21, 2016 – The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County celebrate the unanimous vote at the McHenry County Board Meeting on the evening of July 19 that proclaims August 2016 as a county wide BYOBag (Bring Your Own Bag) month.

The BYOBag program of The Environmental Defenders encourages residents to use reusable bags when shopping and supports businesses as they help promote the use of alternatives to plastic and paper at checkout.

Founded in October of 2013, the BYOBag Committee has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the detrimental effects that plastic bags have on our environment and the high cost of cleanup when bags make their way from landfills, are airborne or end up in our rivers and other features of the watersheds in McHenry County.

Plastic bags cost businesses an enormous of amount of money, as do paper bags, and both have consequences on the environment during processing as well as transport.

Carolyn Schofield (County Board Member), Cynthia Kanner (Chair, BYOBag Committee), Nancy Schietzelt (Defenders' President) and Joe Gottemoller (Chairman, McHenry County Board.)

McHenry County Board member Carolyn Schofield, Cynthia Kanner (Chair, BYOBag Committee), Defenders President Nancy Schietzelt and County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller.

Plastic bags, once in our environment, can remain for hundreds of years due to the indestructible nature of plastic polymers.

Plastic bags are not necessary and can be easily replaced by bags that can be used for shopping for dozens of years. One reusable bag can replace the use of tens of hundreds of plastic bags.

Several towns in McHenry County have declared their own BYOBag months over the past two years and more plan to do the same in the near future. Some towns that have proclaimed BYOBag months include:

  • Algonquin
  • Cary
  • Crystal Lake
  • Huntley
  • Lake in the Hills
  • Spring Grove
  • Woodstock, which has proclaimed BYOBag Year through April 2017

The Environmental Defenders has received two grants from the McHenry County Community Foundation to help inform the public of the vital need to reduce the use of plastic bags, made from oil, a non-renewable resource (def: cannot be replaced by nature once used up). The BYOBag signs can already be seen throughout McHenry County and on bag racks given to stores to help them promote their own reusable bags.

The BYOBag Committee asks the public to please observe BYOBag beginning August 2016 and maintain a new habit of bringing one’s own bags throughout the years to come.

Future endeavors of the BYOBag Committee include developing an ordinance promoting a charge for plastic and paper bags, examples of which already exist in our communities. It is hoped through teamwork and a mindful eye on a sustainable McHenry County that each town will eventually adopt such an ordinance.

Founded in 1970, The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County is a non-profit, membership organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the environment.


Comments

County Board Supports Reusable Shopping Bag Program — 30 Comments

  1. And BYOB promotes diseases.

    Why don’t these people (And I am not talking about the Defenders. They are just sadly mislead.) leave us alone and let s live our lives without their constant interferenc?

    Oh, yeah, I forgot.

    Only they know how we should live.

    We are too stupid to do anything on our own without them declaring from on high what we should do, be, and pay for their expertise.

  2. This is a great idea.

    They should either promote BYOB or tax/charge for plastic bags at all stores.

  3. “BYOB promotes diseases” yet plastic bags are safe.

    Good laugh.

    There isn’t one type of reusable bag, different ones are made from different materials.

    You can get cotton or hemp ones.

  4. Her point was single use bags are safer, which they are, if the reusable bags are not sanitized from time to time.

    She never said there was one type of reusable bag.

    ++++

    If a hemp bag is purchased the hemp was not grown in the US, because hemp can’t grown legally by private enterprise in the US, just some limited state and university projects.

    Even through during World War II and prior hemp was grown in Illinois and elsewhere in the US and used to manufacture rope and whatever else.

  5. This is a perfect example of the extremes on this blog…this is a nice idea that may have some benefits.

    One side has to be mean and criticize it and the other side sees a potential for fees and fines.

  6. Really?

    If this is an example of what the County board is doing for us, it is very sad.

  7. Hey Carolyn Schofield, maybe you can get a job doing something for the defenders since you lost the primary for state rep,

    LOL, Ha,Ha,Ha, Looser!

  8. Carolyn is a crumby bag lady with nothing.

    Couldn’t even beat skillicorn then she cried about it for days to anyone who would listen.

    Why don’t you accept your defeat in good Grace.

  9. You are the lowest of the low stand4truth.

    This has nothing to do with her race, which she ran using the tactics she wanted.

    This is nothing more than Carolyn supporting our conservation district in was she sees fit.

    Losing a race personally is difficult; especially when you had a party divided.

    I do not agree with Carolyn on a great many things but this kind of behavior coming from the left is really shameful.

    Carolyn does not deserve this.

    Frankly, none of us do who put our intentions out there.

    Feel free to attack our positions and our votes – but the personal stuff… uncalled for.

  10. I’ve been BYOB for many years.

    I didn’t need the Defenders using grant money to tell me to do so.

    Waste of taxpayer money.

    But hey, it makes the politicians look good, right?

  11. Andrew I find your defense of Carolyn Schofield Disingenuous to say the least considering you attacked her politically during this last primary election.

    You are nothing but a Bully!

    Do Us all a Favor and Resign from County Board!

  12. get yourself canvas, washable bags.

    Wash periodically with a little bleach.

    Meat should be in plastic bags and NOT REUSED.

    Do not mix the meat bags with the other groceries.

    Yes, you can pass ecoli and other problems with meat packaging.

    Fresh Market is very good about wrapping meat separately.

    There ia a reason for this.

    If you saw the places canned goods and other products are stored, you would understand.

    Wipe can lids before opening.

    Just good vood safety.

  13. Really Andrew??

    Where were your good intentions when she was running You Pu$$Y

  14. Folks in the Cal-iphate are wound up today.

    As to the “diseases” an early commenter mentioned, think about the bacteria and germs on the hands of the people who touch your produce before you get it.

    The microbiology of the checkout belt.

    he Petri dish you call a shopping cart.

    Wash your produce.

    Your reusable bag is the least of your sanitation problems with grocery store food.

  15. Not even Likely Watchdog 2, I’m Just waking up you female dog.

  16. To all on this blog,

    Stand is an example of the worst and most despicable human traits.

    It spews hate and venom behind a misnomer of a screen name, which makes it nothing more than a foul mouthed, uneducated, classless coward.

    If you are so proud of who you are, use your real name.

    We know you won’t do that, because that would take courage, which is something that you have never demonstrated.

    Ignore this example of sub human filth.

    Cal,

    Stand is not adding to political discourse. It is using foul language and attacking people personally. People who are NOT public figures. I am normally opposed to censorship, but Stand is THE perfect example for the proper use of censorship. Turn it off. You know its email address, turn it off too. It does not deserve the opportunity to communicate with human beings.

  17. Well, I’m glad we got this bag thing sorted out.

    Now I can sleep at night.

    Maybe next time we can spend time and resources ADDRESSING REAL PROBLEMS!!!

    Ignore Stands4 $#!7 .

    He’s baiting you.

    He’s a master at that.

  18. Hey Stand4truth, I’m guessing you’re about 17, since I’m guessing you would realize people can find out who you are no matter what your screen name is, if you were an adult or intelligent.

    And since you enjoy being a tough guy with no substance or intelligence you should probably stop now.

    Bullys like you are a disgrace and should not be tolerated on any social media or in life.

    Be careful.

    No better yet.

    Don’t.

  19. I think you’re wrong, John.

    No one shoud be “turned off”.

    Ignored, yes.

    Ostracized, yes.

    But, turned off?

    No.

  20. The environmental defenders might want to go outside and look up!

    Geoengineering is going to kill us a lot sooner than plastic bags.

    You can call me crazy and I can call you brain-dead and blind.

  21. Molly? I wish you would post more often. The awake could use your help in nudging the masses from their deep sleep.

  22. Just ignore the last two posts.
    They are part of the illuminati and are secretly working for big oil and the plastic conglomerates.
    Probably Bildebergers too.

  23. CP: No I’m a housewife from McHenry with hundreds of photos of a big X over my home, and grid patterns, for the last seven years.

    My husband called me crazy and told me to get off the internet when I first brought up the subject of chemtrails.

    The very next day, sitting on the patio, we watched 5 planes go all the way across the “big sky” and all do U-turns, and go all the way back, and over and over, etc.

    He told me I was right.

    It wasn’t on tell-lie-vision or on the internet.

    Seeing was believing right above us, in little old McHenry.

    I’ve grieved for seven years for everyone’s children and grandchildren.

    I don’t have any children but I do care about the future of yours.

    Please wake up.

    geoengineeringwatch.org

  24. But what happens when the truth is actually ugly?

    Does it lose the beauty intrinsic to truth?

    Should ugly truths be suppressed? Should painful truths be hidden, or even denied?

    ABSOLUTELY NOT.

    Goodness gracious this is so important. Please pay good attention to this.

    When the truth is ugly, it must STILL be declared.

    Boldly.

    Loudly.

    Persistently.

    Failure to declare ugly truths is itself an act of dishonesty, a bearing of false witness, and it makes impossible any attempt to push through the superficial ugliness and get to the pure, holy beauty beyond.

    If you refuse to declare ugly truths, then progress (in the good sense of the word) is halted.

    Everything stops and the only direction that has any freedom for movement is BACKWARD, away from truth, and thus away from God Himself.

    Because ladies and gentlemen, TRUTH is BEAUTIFUL.

    Even when it reveals something so ugly that you can barely stand to look at it.

    If you haven’t figured it out yet, the ultimate manifestation of this is Christ Crucified.

    This is why we have crucifixes – not just crosses but crucifixes with Christ nailed to the Cross.

    The crucifix is the most beautiful image in the world, because it reveals the most beautiful truth in the world by first making us push through horrific ugliness.

    The horrific ugliness is God Incarnate, perfect and sinless, whipped until He is skinned and nailed naked to a tree BECAUSE WE PUT HIM THERE BY OUR SINS.

    How can this possibly be beautiful? Because it is the complete expression and manifestation of God’s love for man.

    When man asks,

    “Is there a God and does He care about me?”

    the only way to fully answer that question is by showing him an image that is so horrific that it makes us wince and look away.

    But then we look back.

    And look.

    And look.

    And look.

    Because what we are looking at is TRUTH, and truth is beautiful, but only so long as we don’t try to “clean it up” or make it “easier to swallow”.

    When you try to make ugly truths either more palatable, or even try to obscure them all together, you are embracing a lie.

    God died a horrific death for your sins and thus your sins CAN be forgiven because first you ARE a sinner, and your sins are HORRIFIC – but you have to have the antecedent before the corollary: you have to have the CROSS before you can get to the Resurrection.

    –Ann B.

  25. Thank you, Molly.

    Knowledge is power.

    So many these days haven’t a clue about that.

    Those that call names and jeer have no idea that the whole ecosystem is dieing.

    Their derision will not save them.

    God bless you, Molly.

  26. Knowledge is power. Just make sure you research both sides of the argument not just one.

    Remember that 2 plus 2 doesn’t equal whatever Alex Jones says it does.

    Geoengineering is real but that doesn’t mean the government is trying to sterilize the men of McHenry.

    More likely it’s in the flight path of one of the world’s busiest airports.

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