I just read your Viewpoint on the attempt of the California Attorney General to criminalize the plastics industry ["Investigating plastics: Is defending the industry a crime?" May 9, Page 6].
As a taxpayer in California it is appalling and unacceptable that our money should be used for this purpose. Not to mention, at one time California was home to the most plastics companies in the United States. No one in Sacramento seems to care that the plastics industry brings in a significant number of well-paying jobs, not to mention tax revenue.
I was on the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.'s board of directors in the early 1990s and worked with Larry Thomas and Lew Freeman. You are correct: The SPI and the industry thrived under the "Plastics Makes it Possible" slogan. And the plastics industry also actively addressed recycling at that time: Novacor created and offered me the position of their marketing person for their recycling program. You may recall that Novacor had an agreement with McDonald's to enable recycling of the polystyrene foam containers. McDonald's suddenly did an about face and announced that all of their packaging would once again be paper based.
Thanks as always for your spot-on comments, Don.
Debbie Hauser
Principal, Best Impressions
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.