APC applauds effort to stop plastics tax
Your recent editorial (``Calif. recycling bill lacking in fairness,'' July 9, Page 6) regarding California state Senator Wesley Chesbro's legislation that proposes a tax on a variety of plastic containers if arbitrary recycling rates are not met, captured the bill's unfair, anti-plastics-industry bias accurately and succinctly. Passage of this legislation would have led many consumer product companies to deselect plastics in favor of a packaging material not subject to these onerous requirements and could have actually increased California's solid waste concerns.
Fortunately, thanks to an aggressive, coordinated industry grassroots effort, the support from plastics processors played a significant role in highlighting to legislators the detrimental impact this proposal would have. Continued processor involvement in the legislative process is critical if future anti-plastics industry proposals are to be defeated. The American Plastics Council agrees that the recycling of plastics is a laudable goal, and it's one reason why we are leading a statewide public education campaign to do just that. Yet as Plastics News correctly pointed out, legislating arbitrary recycling rates and imposing fines on product companies that use energy efficient plastic packaging will do little, if anything to improve the state's environment.
On behalf of the industry and the processors who continue to be actively engaged in this and future California issues, APC wishes to thank the editorial staff of Plastics News for their prominent stand on this important issue.
Tim Shestek
American Plastics Council
Sacramento, Calif.
APC, SPI must avoid bureaucratic impasse
Editor's note: This letter was addressed to George A. Makrauer and copied to Plastics News.
Your well-written letter in the Mailbag section on June 25 (``SPI has value despite membership decline,'' Page 6) points out my concern with the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.'s divorce from the American Plastics Council and the recent exploratory discussions between APC and the American Chemistry Council.
Energy-based corporations have enormous financial interests and strength in promoting consumption of their byproduct of plastics raw materials. Joining APC with ACC is a mistake at present. All APC members belong to ACC, so it is intelligent in times like these to talk of combining, if it would save meaningful dollars. Currently, it is penny-wise and pound-foolish! These major corporations should not bite the hand that has fed them for the last 60 years. The current generation of decision-makers must speak with their peers and mentors to rediscover how they arrived at their current level of business market share.
APC would be more self-serving to our now adult plastics industry if it would turn around and give back what it already took away from the SPI. I have been an active representative since 1965 and have watched SPI grow to a point where it forgot from whence it came. Scaling back on bureaucracy within SPI and giving more attention to the Davids rather than to the Goliaths is what all leaders of APC and SPI must do to move forward in harmony and growth.
Malcolm S. Scar
Plastic Management Inc.
Boynton Beach, Fla.
