• Editor’s Note: This article is Part 1 of a three-part series written by Kane County Board member Jarett Sanchez, who serves on the County Board Energy and Environmental Committee. The mission of Kane County’s Division of Environmental and Water Resources is to develop, evaluate, and implement programs to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents and the environment. These programs include the countywide Stormwater Management Program, the Recycling and Waste Recovery Program, Energy and Resource Conservation Programs, and other environmental activities and special projects.​​​​

Since the 1950s, plastic has become a simple solution for corporations that want to create, package and sell products to American consumers. Because of plastic, more kinds of products have been made possible to manufacture, and plastic itself has become central to our way of living.

Now we’re starting to see the impacts of plastic on our environment and on our health — but many of us are not sure how to go about making change in our lifestyle and habits.

In this two-part series, I’m sharing the experiences and advice of Leslie Hernandez, the Sustainability Fellow for the village of Oak Park, who has embarked on a plastic-free lifestyle.

Defining The Problem

In just the United States each year, 25.2 million tons of plastic end up in landfills, where it takes 500 to 1,000 years for it to decompose — if at all.

It’s estimated that our world’s oceans now contain about 165 million tons of plastic waste, which then breaks down into smaller pieces, called microplastic. Whales are dying because their stomachs are filled with excessive amounts of indigestible plastic bits that block real food from entering the intestines.

Swaths of plastic the size of Texas are floating around in the Pacific Ocean.

Also, bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s, has been found to be a toxic hormone disruptor, with generations of people exposed to unknown levels of it for decades. Not to mention things like lead and arsenic being found in plastic that comes from countries with fewer regulations than we have.

Now, microplastics are being found in all plastic drinking containers, the health impacts of which are still unknown. And to add insult to injury, recycling has recently taken a hit after China officials lowered the amount of contaminants (such as pizza boxes and plastic bags) that they will accept from 20% to .5%, devastating much of the recycling industry.

Enter Leslie Hernandez

So, what can be done? That’s what I wanted to learn about from Hernandez.

Leslie Hernandez

Hernandez is presently the Sustainability Fellow for the village of Oak Park (under the Greenest Regions Corp, part of Americorp), where she collects energy usage data. Oak Park is a forward-thinking municipality that recently passed a single-use bag fee, similar to the one proposed in Springfield earlier this year, and it has been a great success.

“Something that makes Oak Park stand out is that a big chunk of the residents are very supportive of sustainability,” Hernandez said as we spoke on the phone for this interview. “It really is a community effort, and I’m so happy to be a part of that.”

Start Small, Don’t Stress

For many who start on the path of plastic-free living, the impulse is to do as much as they can, and fast, because they sense the enormity of the problem — but Hernandez said that’s not always the best way to start.

“For the first seven months, I was totally zero waste,” she said. “But I realized it was kind of like a full-time job, and it was also a lot of stress, so I decided to scale back and make it more of a transitional journey,” she said. “Just taking it step by step and doing manageable things that you can include in your daily life without obstructing it is really the biggest difference you can make.”

The other pitfall people run into when trying to go plastic-free is pressuring those around them to do the same.

“I learned this with my own family,” she said, “I would get so emotional about putting plastic bags in the recycling bins, for instance, and they wouldn’t listen to my admonitions to ‘recycle right.’ So one day I realized: I can’t change them! I just had to let go of that and start focusing on myself, and that’s when things started changing for me.”

The key, she said, is to start small and build from there.

“Start with the reusable straw or something simple and see where you can get in a year.”

Develop a Long Game

Leslie Hernandez’ first attempt at zero waste grocery shopping.

Playing the long game is the strategy that has worked best for Hernandez and countless others in the zero-waste community.

“Start with something small, and a year later that thing that you didn’t want to do before doesn’t seem like so much of an inconvenience because you’ve changed,” she said.

Hernandez said that it’s important to remember we live in a capitalist, consumerist society, and playing the long game means making purchasing decisions that come from a sense of responsibility.

It’s that old saying, “vote with your dollar.” Hernandez said the purchasing decisions we make ultimately influence the direction that our industries take. If they know people are looking for more plastic-free options, then those will start to appear more on shelves.

“Right now you can see the effects of consumer influence happening in the food industry as more people are looking for vegetarian options in their fast food, and fast food chains such as Burger King are rolling out meatless options on their menus,” she said.

In fact, Hernandez is building her own business, Essential Living, which specializes in Zero Waste Personal Shopping and Zero Waste Lifestyle Consultation.

“When I was thinking about starting my own store, the idea came from being so overwhelmed and anxious over my own impact, and what I wanted to do to be a better consumer, but there weren’t that many options available,” she said.

She enjoys answering questions from people about zero waste and plastic-free living and can be reached at essentialco.info@gmail.com.

• NEXT WEEK: Leslie Hernandez’ 5 Tips For a Plastic-Free Lifestyle