The existing fee for single-use bags at retail stores is about to get higher after a 6-1 vote by the Oak Park village board to incrementally increase the cost before a total ban on the bags takes effect in 2030.
At the village meeting on Aug. 25, Lindsey Roland Nieratka, Oak Park’s chief sustainability officer, presented the proposed change while acknowledging the current bag fees have not been effective in reducing the use of plastic bags. The vision of becoming a zero-waste community is just one piece of the larger effort for Oak Park to achieve sustainability goals outlined in the Climate Ready Oak Park plan.
The 10-cent fee on single-use bags has been in place since 2018 and has been successful in raising over $1 million in revenue for the village’s sustainability fund. However, it has been the opposite of successful in reducing usage of plastic bags, actually seeing an increase from the first year of the policy according to Roland Nieratka.
The new regulations, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, will raise the fee for single-use plastic and paper bags by 5 cents until reaching a cap of 25 cents per bag and eventually a complete ban on plastic in 2030.
“We have determined that this is a potential path to do both things,” said Roland Nieratka at the meeting.
The three-year buffer of price increases is intended to prepare residents and give village government time to educate the community. There are also free reusable bags available for anyone at Village Hall.
With the new fee of 15 cents per bag starting in the new year, there could be a 50% reduction in usage of single-use bags while maintaining the same yearly revenue of about $170,000.
Roland Nieratka said the 17 businesses – mainly grocery stores –that the fee currently applies to were included in the conversation and there was “no significant pushback from those businesses.”
Trustee Derek Eder raised questions and concerns around the inclusion of paper bags and the possibility of offering compostable bags as an alternative. He said he first loved and supported the proposal but wants to make sure the village is able to get the change “to stick.”
“I think that we should give people an easy path to do the right thing, and out-right bans can backfire if we don’t offer that pathway,” said Eder.
Trustee Cory Wesley was the only vote in opposition to the change saying he is in favor of reducing single-use plastic waste, but ultimately, doesn’t feel motivated by the environmental impact in the face of potential financial burden to residents.
“I’m not voting for increasing the amount, regardless, because even though it’s only a nickel, it feels like it’s not the right time to increase costs for people shopping for food,” said Wesley. “The signal to me says that we’re tone deaf because the struggles that people on the street are experiencing, and I’d like to not send that message, and so I won’t vote for that message.”
Although the ordinance was approved by the vote, there are plans for a memo answering questions raised during the conversation at the meeting with the potential to revisit and update the regulations down the road.