Racine officials to examine plastic policies
Potential changes come after viewing exhibit
It isn’t often that a museum exhibit has a relatively quick impact on public policy, but it’s happening in Racine County.
In late June Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave and Racine Mayor Cory Mason walked through the “Blue Paradox” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The exhibit takes visitors on an interactive journey that shows the extent of plastic pollution on Earth.
It’s also the brainchild of Fisk Johnson, CEO of SC Johnson, the Racinebased chemical company responsible for products like Windex and Off!
Now more than a month after visiting the exhibit, the local leaders are looking at how their offices, and their homes, can become better at recycling plastic.
“I think most people understand the threat that carbon presents around global warming and climate change. This, I think, did as well a job explaining to people how plastics are a real threat to the oceans and our waterways and the Great Lakes,” Mason said.
“I give Fisk Johnson enormous credit for telling that story very effectively and getting people to understand the magnitude of it all.”
Mason said city officials have begun discussing how Racine recycles plastic, considering ways to improve upon what’s in place and evaluating the city’s current business contract on recycling.
“It’s going to take everybody doing their part. It’s going to take manufacturers like (Fisk Johnson) being responsible for the life cycle of the materials, but it’s going to take the private sector, but it’s also going to take government doing its part as well,” Mason said.
Delagrave also wants to look at how the county uses plastic to find areas to cut back or invest in reusable plastic.
But his advocacy goes beyond the county, and he’s willing to talk to businesses and other elected officials in different municipalities to see if they will do the same.
“There is a solution already, which is great. It’s about how do you create a larger capacity to integrate that solution,” Delagrave said.
Curbing plastic use at home
The Blue Paradox exhibit has caused both officials to do some introspection on how they use plastic in their personal lives.
Delagrave admits plastic pollution wasn’t an issue that was top of mind for him. But in the month since the visit, he has changed his thinking.
“Our family, we don’t buy plastic water bottles anymore. We try to reduce our plastic. We don’t take plastic (bags) at the grocery store,” Delagrave said. “Those are two simple things that we’ve done as a family based on that exhibit.”
Mason and his family use reusable bags at the grocery store, an initiative started by his wife before he saw the exhibit, but said there are times when he forgets them and he now makes a point to bring them.
“You look at every garbage bag a little bit differently,” Mason said. “It’s made us more thoughtful about ‘where do these things go?’”
Johnson has been calling for more regulation, even federal regulation, on companies such as his to enhance the current recycling infrastructure to reduce the amount plastic that end up in waterways. He is pushing for extended producer responsibility, which forces companies to pay for the entire life cycle of the plastic products they produce, beyond the use of the customer.
“It’s an honor for me to say that Fisk Johnson is from Racine County and is one of the leaders taking the charge to reduce plastic (pollution), and whatever I can do personally or in my position, I am full on, lock, stock and barrel to do it,” Delagrave said.