I just read about “a plastic free July for Oak Park,” so my letter may be redundant – but here goes:
I am a resident at Brookdale; “a senior housing solution” is the slogan here.
We may be seniors, but we remain interested in world problems, one of them concerning the environment. We’re looking at the future of Earth for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Scientists tell us we have about 12 years to get our act together, so here is what we’re doing:
Collecting batteries to be recycled (you can imagine hearing aid batteries are plentiful)
Collecting plastic lids to be made into plastic wood and then into benches to be placed in Oak Park’s parks
Encouraging the use of tote bags for shopping trips, to reduce the use of plastic bags, and when plastic bags are used, we collect them to be taken to the local Jewel to be recycled
Starting a butterfly garden, particularly to encourage Monarch butterflies with our plantings of milkweed
Starting a bird and pollinator garden (pollinators are important to our food supply)
We recycle paper, plastic, glass and aluminum.
With all this in mind I’d like to challenge Oak Park residents, not only for the month of July, but for a permanent lifestyle change to positively affect the environment.
Mildred (Millie) Erhardt
Oak Park
