Your Page 10 editorial, ``It's time to support expanded bottle bill'' in the July 14 edition of Plastics News misses the point with respect to recycling, expanded bottle-deposit legislation and its impact on consumers.
Expansion of the bottle-deposit system will require the creation of burdensome collection systems that will be paid for by consumers through price increases.
Such an expansion would force expensive sorting of products by brands. This would create an economic hardship on food and beverage retailers who would be responsible for absorbing the administrative costs and providing the space for the increased number of sorting bins.
It doesn't make sense to impose such costs and create an increased economic hardship on retailers to achieve what we believe would be minimal environmental gains.
It makes better sense to expand and promote existing curbside and drop-off programs, and the American Plastics Council can help. Through its Technical Assistance program, APC conducts technical research, demonstrates new technology, identifies and promotes the best practices and provides education tools and technical assistance.
APC also offers a variety of tools to help recycling and solid waste management professionals improve the efficiency of their systems and the quality of their materials.
Community education could play a role in increasing plastics collection at the curbside which, in 1996, reached an all-time high.Some 6,198 communities reported access to plastics collection curbside, up from 2,463 in 1990.
The number of pounds of post-consumer plastic bottles recycled by plastics reclaimers each year has grown as well, from 364 million pounds in 1990 to 1.3 billion pounds in 1996.
Apparently, your editorial support of expanded bottle legislation is designed to boost recycling rates and pump up the ``industry's image.''
I think the best way of improving the industry's image is to be straight with the American public and support recycling that is environmentally responsible and economically sustainable.
Roger Bernstein
SPI/APC State Government Affairs
Washington
