Retailers To Give Away Free Reusable Bags In Oak Park Saturday

OAK PARK, IL — Select retailers in Oak Park will have a limited supply of free reusable bags to give away customers on Saturday, now that the village's bag fee has gone into effect. The free bag promotion —a joint effort between the Interfaith Green Network, retailers, and village officials— will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Jan. 6.

During Saturday's promotion, the following stores will have free reusable bags available to customers while supplies last:

• Carnival Grocery, Oak Park Ave.
• Carnivore, Pleasant St.
• CVS, Madison St.
• Fair Share Super Market, Roosevelt Rd.
• Jewel, Madison St.
• Jewel, Roosevelt Rd.
• Pete’s Fresh Market, Lake St.
• Sugar Beet, Madison St.
• Target, Lake St.
• Trader Joe’s, Harlem
• Whole Foods, Lake St. (in River Forest)

The 10-cent fee, which applies to both paper and plastic bags, is intended to reduce the village's environmental impact, but the new ordinance has been stressful for some customers due to limited access to reusable bags.

Since Oak Park's 10-cent bag fee went into effect on Jan. 1, many residents have raised concerns about how income insecure individuals can deal with the cost. Other residents expressed concerns about limited access to free reusable bags, which were made available at Village Hall and in the Public Work's building.

On its website, the Village of Oak Park said it has been working with local non-profits like the Interfaith Green Network to "provide reusable bags to individuals who may not be able to afford to buy them."

>>Image credit: Getty Images/David McNew / Staff