The Rochester Youth Climate Leaders had a strong presence at the Brighton EcoFair on June 6th. Their latest efforts revolve around pursuing a fee or ban on single-use plastic bags, and part of the their work at the EcoFair was to educate people about why reducing plastic bags is good for the environment and to gather signatures for their petition to that end. You can check out the podcast of two members of the RYCL steering committee discussing this issue on Evan Dawson’s Connections, along with attorney and sustainability consultant, Jennie Romer, and Jason Wadsworth, sustainability manager for Wegmans, right after NYC passed legislation to place a fee on plastic bags…click this link.

It was a wet and cold day, but the members who manned the table were in good spirits and were undaunted. In addition to the petition, members of the RYCL demonstrated how to make reusable bags from old tshirts. At the end of the three-hour event, the students had collected nearly 100 signatures for the petition. Their next stop is to meet with Commissioner Norman H. Jones of Rochester’s Department of Environmental Services.