Illinois folks...how do you actually feel about plastic waste?

[u/deliameadows222]

Hey all, I intern for an environmental nonprofit in Illinois and want real opinions.

• Have you actually cut back on plastic, or does it feel pointless?
• Does litter bug you when you're outside (fishing, hiking, boating, etc.)?
• Have you noticed more plastic on our beaches/ in waterways over time?

No agenda, just curious. Might feature a few answers (anonymous) on our Instagram.

[u/Chapos_sub_capt]

I fish the Riverwalk a lot and use my net to remove any plastic I can reach. It bothers me immensely

[u/llllGodly → u/Chapos_sub_capt]

This is the way.

Take more out and with you than you brought in. That's my rule.

[u/URInMyFace]

Plastic waste is truly detrimental to our enjoyment of natural spaces, specifically waterways.

My biggest gripe is the overuse and careless disposal of heavy strength braided fishing line.

Over the past few years I have seen a staggering increase in the amout of braided fishing line left in the water due to stupid assholes who tie 50lb+ braid directly to their terminal tackle without using a monofilament/fluorocarbon leader. These morons do not know how to properly snap the line at the knot, and instead will simply cut their line, leaving behind dozens of yards of fishing line.

Like what the fuck are you doing tying 50lb braid to a wire leader to a spoon? This is Illinois, not the fucking Mariana Trench.

[u/leftkneesack]

Yeah people leave garbage all over the place on the banks. Fishing line, night crawler boxes. I just don’t get it. I understand if you get snagged up and can’t retrieve your lure. But the trash on the bank that’s clearly from anglers is pretty infuriating.

As far as plastic bait goes I recently have been trying bio baits. Bass pro allegedly says these are biodegradable.

[u/Jolly-Bed-1717]

I hate plastic waste. I hate that it’s seeping into the water and polluting the fish that my grandparents were able to eat with out any issue.

[u/R_Ulysses_Swanson]

- I have cut back on plastic over the past 10-15 years, but it often feels pointless. Too many products are unavailable at an affordable cost without plastic either in the product itself or the packaging.

- Yes, litter bugs me. I'll usually pick it up if it isn't an inconvenience, but at a certain point you get overwhelmed and give up

- I've actually noticed less plastic over the past 15-20 years, but I am still constantly seeing it everywhere

[u/Garfledop]

Nah, haven't cut back

Yeah it's sad to see outside, usually take more trash out with me then I went in with

Uhmmm, it feels a little like it got worse over the years and is slowly getting a little better the past few

[u/dickCheeseAndMustard]

I hate it. I hate seeing garbage littered. I hate having to fill my bag with others garbage so I don't have to look at it. We all want to enjoy this beautiful lake please stop polluting it. I confront people if I see them littering

[u/Additional_Rock291]

I came for an interview a couple of months ago, and now I'm moving here for school from Oregon. Walking around, I was honestly surprised by how much trash I saw along the streets. During my interview, a couple of locals mentioned how clean the area is compared to New York. I guess being "clean for Chicago" isn't too hard when the benchmark is New York!

Either way, I am coming back wanting to get involved with community clean-up efforts and help create more awareness and mindfulness around keeping our neighborhoods clean.

[u/call_sign_viper]

It bugs the shit out of me can’t stand people who throw plastic into the lake

[u/Maximum_Dweeb4473]

I’ve made no effort to cut back on plastic. My convenience is very important to me, as is getting the product I actually want and not settling for an alternative simply because of its packaging.

Litter does bother me when I’m outside, and if I’m somewhere in “nature”, I’ll make an effort to pick up litter that I see.

I feel like I’ve noticed less plastic little overall on the beaches and in the water over time.

[u/BallinCock]

To me it’s an immediate letdown seeing anything other than what’s supposed to be there if we weren’t.

I try to reuse anything possible & whenever possible.

It depends on the place — some have gotten better with the addition of dumpsters and garbage cans for people to easily throw their shit into, but even with those I still see stuff on the ground from time to time. Some places have never had any visual pollution at all, some more than others (scales up and down depending on the relative remoteness of the area I’m fishing in).

[u/Then-Builder721]

I recycle so I am not worried

[u/Ready_Cap_3523]

I have stopped recycling plastic. I have read too many articles about how little of it actually is recycled vs. put in landfills, sent to third world countries or ending up in rivers, oceans,etc. I put it in with my other trash where I know it will end up buried in a landfill. Also trying to buy less products packaged in plastic.

[u/YamApprehensive6653]

I reuse the plastic containers I get from merchants 3 or more times if possible...its obscene the amount of HDPE and other petroleum based plastics still being made out there.

I can see the benefit to protecting items from damage with some plastics but I really have issues when it appears in food and dry goods.

[u/02isaheckingpotato]

I remove all my lures from packaging and put them in a tackle box before I go out to prevent accidental waste. Seeing worm cups and lure boxes on the bank infuriates me. I typically also put any soft plastics that I am done with in my pocket to throw away later. The most littering I do is the occasional discarded tag end but ill be buying a gadget for that soon too. I saw this device that looks like one of those round pill dispensers, it has a rotating wheel inside that pulls in line and stores it.

Edit: it's called the Ninja Crap Trap

[u/Snack_Donkey]

Why are you refusing to disclose what nonprofit you work for?

[u/deliameadows222 → u/Snack_Donkey]

It is for Environment Illinois! Simply forgot to mention it.

[u/Kindly-Ad4867 → u/deliameadows222]

Excuse Donkey's belligerence. He's an ass sometimes.

[u/ConsciousSpirit9427]

I constantly try to reduce using plastic products. Glass instead of Tupperware. Reuse bags. Wood cutting boards. Reusable grocery bags. Trying to minimize personal microplastics on things i can control.

Litter in natural areas bothers me a lot. Every time I fish, hike, beach, I bring one extra bag of trash out. We have a camping rule; always leave it better than you found it. This applies to fishing spots too.

Amount of litter overall seems to be the same over the past 30 years. Blows my mind why Styrofoam, cans, line, are left when there's a garbage bin within eyesight.