April 24, 2001

The Honorable Sheila Kuehl, Wes Chesbro, Byron Sher, Bruce McPherson, Liz Figueroa, Tom McClintock, Jack O'Connell
California State Senator
State Capitol
Room 4032
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Senator Kuehl:

On behalf of the 136,000 plastics industry employees in the state of California, I am writing to vigorously oppose SB 1069, sponsored by Sen. Wes Chesbro. As you know the bill will be under consideration tomorrow, April 25th, by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

The plastics industry has consistently stepped up to the plate to meet, and exceed, environmental challenges. This case is no different. The industry is working vigorously to ensure that plastics packaging is the most environmentally preferred product of choice. This is evidenced by the popularity of plastics packaging.

This legislation, in the short term, will compromise the integrity of plastics packaging; technologies are not yet fully developed to achieve this unrealistic recycling rate. Plastics packaging integrity is critical to the safety of the packaging we manufacture, especially in applications for food, drugs and cosmetics.

Rather, the state should focus its resources on consumer awareness and education on the importance of curbside recycling. This will ultimately result in the needed stream of recyclable materials. Without consumer awareness and education, the recycling rate of 50% could not be met despite industry's best efforts.

I will be happy to discuss this matter with you at your convenience. Please feel free to reach me at 202-974-5219. Thank you for your consideration of this most important matter.

Sincerely,

Maureen A. Healey
Vice President and Chief Regulatory
& State Affairs Officer

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