Every once in a while I get a good laugh at an item in Plastics News. Walter Bobruk provided the latest one.
I just quake in my shoes when I hear that my industry is going to go away because of some reason or another. Now it is the impending oil depletion that is going to be the demise of our industry.
This industry was built by people who saw the advantage of the applications of plastic products. And, if and when the oil disappears (not in my lifetime, I'm betting), then the industry will change to adapt. The smart people and companies will survive, oil shortage or not. When oil gets too expensive to use, then other materials will emerge naturally.
Mr. Bobruk thinly disguises his distaste for anything plastic by saying “… if you are interested in the future lifestyle of your children and grandchildren, you need to determine substitutes for your products.” Then he tries to show his impartiality by stating, “I am not saying all plastic products are bad. I am saying plastic should be used only when there is not a good substitute ...”
That is precisely why plastic came of age in the first place: It is a good substitute for other materials, “coat hangers, a plastic counter or plastic flooring” included.
Mr. Bobruk should look at the enormous good effect plastics has had on our environment and lifestyle by industry switching to plastics, not away from them.
If anything, the rising cost of oil should spur industry to make more and more products out of plastic to make them lighter, safer and less expensive. The fact is that when oil goes up, so does everything else. In the long run plastics add to our comfort zone and our pocketbooks.
Or, would Mr. Bobruk suggest a 7,000-pound car that gets three miles to the gallon? Talk about an oil shortage. Talk about pollution.
But, I must run. The sky is falling. The sky is falling.
Bill Deimling
Deimling/Jeliho Plastics Inc.
Amelia, Ohio
