IEC represents over 90 environmental and community organizations and more than 300 individuals from throughout Illinois. Our own analysis through our Litter Free Chicago River initiative reveals that the bulk of the garbage in the river is related to food packaging. “Our Adopt-a-Beach volunteers are at the front lines of the effort to keep plastic pollution out of the Great Lakes. Founded in 1975, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) protects the Illinois environment by creating and advocating for sound environmental laws and policies. “We can not recycle our way out of our plastic pollution problem. The John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago sparks compassion, curiosity and conservation for the aquatic animal world. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, such as lakes, rivers, oceans. The Chicago Recycling Coalition supports this positive step by Alderman Waguespack to protect public health and Chicago’s environmental and economic well-being,” said Michelle Thoma-Culver, president of the Chicago Recycling Coalition. requiring reusable plates and dishes when dining in at restaurants. PortuguêsPoluição em Chicago Please call ahead or visit any department's website to get additional details, or visit chicago.gov/covid-19. We have alternatives to single use plastics, and it’s time to use them,” said Paloma Paez-Coombe, citizen outreach director for Illinois PIRG. The Alliance for the Great Lakes is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization working across the region to protect our most precious resource: the fresh, clean and natural waters of the Great Lakes. Learn more at. “All of the research points to the grave risk of plastic pollution in our waterways, it is time to effect meaningful change and protect our resources and communities.”. In Chicago, pollution hits West Side, South Side the hardest, study finds. Thanks to the guidance and expertise of Access Living and advocates for those with disabilities, this ordinance will preserve the access to needed serviceware, including plastic straws, for all individuals. Chicago River eco-park wants to clear pollution and attract wildlife . Advancing public policies that create healthy environments across Illinois. We doubled the Museum’s overall waste diversion rate from 18% to 36% in just one year, and our waste diversion rate now exceeds 60%.”. Roughly 80% of that litter cleaned up was made up entirely or partly of plastic. In 2019 in the Chicago area alone, nearly 6,000 Adopt-a-Beach volunteers cleaned up 14,549 pounds of litter at 222 cleanup events on Chicago beaches.