On March 22, 2023, city staff came back to the Elgin City Council with information to share about the proposed Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance, which was a recommended policy change from the Elgin Sustainability Commission approximately 6-months ago.

Rather than summarize the Committee of the Whole discussion for you. Erik shares the entire audio extravaganza of city staff, council members, and the Mayor wading through this issue at midnight on what was technically March 23rd at that point.

As you weigh into this murky muck of a conversation that we call democracy in Elgin, we encourage you to ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you think city staff is on the same page as the Elgin Sustainability Commission?
• Did staff appear to bring the necessary information council needed to make a sound decision on this issue?
• Which of the city council members are truly ignorant about the impact plastics and microplastics have in our community?
• Would you rather listen to an hour of high school student council members talking about this subject or the elected members of the Elgin city council?
• What could city staff have done different to have made this public discussion more productive and less contentious?

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For more information about how Batavia, Illinois (a smaller city right down the Fox River from Elgin) has successfully dealt with the issue of a single use bag fee ordinance, here are two previous episodes you will want to check out:

• Talkin' Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance With Batavia's Environmental Commission
• Update: City of Batavia's Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance

And if you haven't downloaded The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide, please do so ASAP:

• Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
• Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
• Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
• Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
• Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!