Bill Text: IL HJR0069 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declares Loop the Cart the official recycling mascot for the State of Illinois and commends the great work that has been done by the Chicago Metro Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) collaboration and the reach of the Feed The Cart campaign over the past two years in recognition of Loop's first birthday on October 20, 2026. Recognizes Loop as a unifying and positive ambassador of recycling messaging, affirming and amplifying the State's commitment to achieving its waste diversion goals.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2026-10-26 - Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Joyce Mason [HJR0069 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HJR0069-Introduced.html

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HJ0069 LRB104 23553 LAW 40034 r
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Chicago Metro Recycling Education and
Outreach (REO) campaign was funded by a $2 million grant from
the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
had a formal kick-off on November 13, 2024, in which the
Metropolitan Mayors Caucus partnered with the Solid Waste
Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), the Solid Waste
Agency of Lake County (SWALCO), and DuPage, Kane, McHenry, and
Will counties to increase the collection of recyclable
materials and decrease contamination of the recycling stream
in the region; and
WHEREAS, REO partners used campaign funds to hire Gud
Marketing, Inc. and collaborated to create "Loop", a
cartoon-like recycling cart mascot with an appetite for
residents' recyclables, to build public confidence in
recycling and simplify recycling information; and
WHEREAS, Loop the Cart was introduced when REO partners
announced the grant's formal outreach campaign, Feed The Cart,
on October 20, 2025, and in the process, became the largest
recycling education and improvement campaign in State history;
and
WHEREAS, Since his inception, Loop's social media campaign

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has engaged Chicagoland residents by promoting the
environmental and economic benefits of recycling, amassing
66.5 million impressions and reaching over 1 million people
through billboards, social media posts and advertisements, and
the FeedTheCart.org website; and
WHEREAS, Loop's life-size likeness has traveled far and
wide to spread his message to "feed him" clean, dry, loose
recyclables, and he has been spotted at many county and city
board meetings, resident events, conferences, and platforms,
including Chicago Climate Week; and
WHEREAS, The Feed The Cart campaign has been named the
2026 recipient of the Beth Brown Boettner Award for
Outstanding Public Education/Outreach Program by the National
Recycling Coalition (NRC), a prestigious honor as the NRC
Awards are highly regarded due to the coalition serving as the
premier national benchmark for recognizing excellence,
scalability, and innovation in sustainable materials
management; and
WHEREAS, The REO campaign's grant funding ends November
2027, and since Loop has become beloved by many for his fun and
positive approach to recycling education and outreach, the
Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and its partners are committed to
sustaining Loop and the Feed The Cart campaign message beyond

HJ0069 - 3 - LRB104 23553 LAW 40034 r
the grant's end; and
WHEREAS, Loop and the Feed The Cart campaign were designed
with the intent of replicability, a key criterion for award of
the U.S. EPA grant, and expansion beyond the Chicago Metro
area; and
WHEREAS, The State of Illinois created the Materials
Management Advisory Committee (MMAC) in 2019 through Public
Act 101-0074 to evaluate existing materials management in
Illinois, identify education needs to increase landfill
diversion, and set achievable landfill diversion goals; and
WHEREAS, The MMAC estimated waste reduction at 37% and
recommended landfill diversion targets of 40% by 2025, 45% by
2030, and 50% by 2035; and
WHEREAS, The MMAC recommended the development and support
of a statewide materials management campaign to distribute
simple, consistent, and unified waste reduction messaging,
including through use of a slogan, logo, and brand; and
WHEREAS, Illinois enacted the Solid Waste Planning and
Recycling Act (P.A. 85-1198), requiring counties to adopt
solid waste management plans, finding that waste reduction and
recycling are preferable to the disposal of municipal waste,

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and stating that solid waste management plans shall include
public education and notification programs to foster
understanding of and encourage compliance with the recycling
program; and
WHEREAS, Loop and the Feed The Cart campaign can help
counties fulfill the requirements set forth by P.A. 85-1198;
and
WHEREAS, Illinois lawmakers have passed legislation to
divert a number of specific materials, including electronics,
pharmaceuticals, paint, and batteries, and these programs have
been successfully implemented statewide, each of which have a
need for continuous education and outreach to engage the
public; and
WHEREAS, Through these multiple statewide goals and
programs, Loop has great potential to support recycling
educators in their efforts; and
WHEREAS, Loop and the Feed The Cart campaign have seen
success throughout the Chicago Metro region, and this success
could be spread to the entire State of Illinois by giving Loop
a permanent residency in Illinois as a mascot for proper
recycling practices; and

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WHEREAS, It is fitting and proper that the Illinois
General Assembly honors Loop the Cart as the state recycling
mascot for Illinois, encouraging his travels to counties and
municipalities throughout the State to increase the amount of
recyclable material diverted from landfills, thereby
continuing to improve the quality of materials placed into the
recycling stream, resulting in a less contaminated, more
marketable stream of recyclables; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare Loop the Cart the
official recycling mascot for the State of Illinois and
commend the great work that has been done by the Chicago Metro
Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) collaboration and the
reach of the Feed The Cart campaign over the past two years in
recognition of Loop's first birthday on October 20, 2026; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That we recognize Loop as a unifying and
positive ambassador of recycling messaging, affirming and
amplifying the State's commitment to achieving its waste
diversion goals.