Campus currently gives out tens of thousands of single-use plastic bags every year through its retail operations, including more than 50,000 each year at the Illini Union Bookstore alone. This proposal seeks to address waste by offering reusable bags via a partnership with on-campus traditions and university-affiliated retailers.

Approximately 20,000 bags will be supplied to students alongside an educational campaign about the impact of bag waste. The combination of replacing plastic bags with cloth reusable ones and an educational campaign to ensure reuse is projected to save hundreds of gallons of oil and thousands of pounds of CO2 emissions.