It all started with cue balls and brushes...men that would prove themselves as visionaries in a world of industrial revolution. For decades we respected the inventors of this magical material..one that eventually overtook the metal industry.. an industry that had dominated as a primary material floundered. Owens Corning shut down facilities when Polycarbonate materials took the place of glass headlights.Plastic was changing the world as we knew it...we marveled at its usefulness, and were happy at the reduced prices on our household goods.

Times have changed a great deal in the last 20 years...We started to recognize the urgency of recycling our resources and protecting the environment. Perhaps we responded too slowly. A great deal of media attention has arrisen lately in the pursuit of environmental justice. Plastics are now seen for many of the problems they are creating.

Some have touted that recycling only exasperates an already undisputable problem. 60 Minutes recently did an expose' on a recycling company that had been accepting computer monitors for recycling under the guise that they would be recycling them in the U.S. The monitors were loaded onto a ship bound for China.. to be recycled via "dirty methods" by indigents who were having serious health problems due to the harsh chemicals that are a biproduct.

With the nation, I was appalled as I watched the 60 Minute crew being attacked by the gang that was overseeing thisunhealthy, uncoothe method of processing. I was especially angered to see the immoral attitude of the recycler confronted...this greedy recycler with his "deer in the headlights" gaze, as he was confronted about an apparent lack of disregard for the humans he has been destroying. These individuals live in a world being decimated by greed.... and I honestly think that they didn't even realize just how bad their lives had become...because their only wish to be able to provide a living for their families.

Add to this our beautiful oceans and waterways. Signs that we have become wasteful gluttons, are displayed in a large debris field. Discovered in the '50's,it continues to grow larger every year. This field's largest make-up is waste plastic that has made its way to from sewers and the wind to waterways...floating by current to an area that has a rotaing current..rarely visited by man,biologists studying the field have determined that it has been increasing tenfold yearly.

Over 50 species have been adversely affected.. turtles are chasing plastic bags thinking they are jellyfish, birds eating shards of plastic because they think it is food and fish doing the same...in the words of a woman who through the context of her website,"the plastic fish".. we "need to do something about this now, or the only fish left will be made out of plastic". How can you not admire a person who is so true to the cause of these polymerized nightmares, that she graphs every piece of plastic she uses by weight to assure she is reducing her use of a substance that is causing our world so much harm?... this intelligent woman who looks at every piece of plastic she uses for a potential substitute?

I can only commend this valiant woman for doing her part. It was also her site that brought the "dirty recycling" operations to my attention. Her site was the first of many that I have been surfing lately. I see alot of valid points... plastic bags , the difficulties associated with recycling plastic grades 3 though 7 ..all could potentially lead to a serious mess for future generations. Another video I watched focused on a recycling facility located on the banks of the St. Lawrence river. What was in peoples minds when this facility was being established? How could such an obvious disregard for environmental concerns have happened? I really don't know...

This is where I have to shift gears, though.....

I have grave concerns for the environment. I strongly believe that we need to react to our past quickly. It is apparent to me that although we recognize the hazards..we fail to react to them. It makes me proud to be in a nation that can fight for the ideals we believe in. Even when people are offended by where we stand, they respect our right to be heard..

This article surely points out where I stand on the environment...or does it?

Here is what you don't know..

I was one of the people who molded your artificial heart valve, and the test tubes and beakers that doctors used when you were sick. I protected you and your family by molding the tip of the mortars used when your country was forced into battle. I monitored the processes that molded your headlight lense, and fixed machines that produced your brakelight assembly, carefully segregating parts that did not meet government standards so that when I went home, I knew that any of the lenses I made that day were not going to be the cause of you being struck from behind.

For 24 years now, I've breathed the fumes that you fear..even after frequently reading the Material Safety Data Sheets that pointed out the potential hazards of doing so.

That trash can you dread hauling to the curb..? Sorry, that was me..that hefty bracket that mounted your seat belt to the floor..a pain to vacuum around?? That was me too..

I may have even been one of the people responsible for saving your life. I'm the guy who was responsible for making adjustments when the parts failed testing.
Some of you might feel as though I deceived you by not telling all of this to you in the beginning. I don't think so.. I intentionally waited... why you ask? Because I wanted you to understand that we who are working in the plastics industry share fully your concern of the environment. I wanted you to hear me..

Remember that shady recycler?

He represents a cruel minority working with plastic..my industry does care about protecting earth...we merely disagree with you on how to approach it. After all... the reason that I am writing this article at all is because as I research the means and methods of recycling...I am doing so to understand why we are failing... and I can't help but to be a little agitated noticing that more often than not..there is alot of finger pointing going on. I'm also noticing that the people I work with day to day aren't responding to those who know not who we really are. We have a voice just like you..we share the same hopes and dreams for our families. We want want our earth to be clean for generations coming the same as you do. I'm writing this in our defense.. because there are serious misrepresentations of the truth. I would like to point several of these out.

Sure...we produced the product that is floating in a debris field. For that we take responsibility. But did anyone happen to notice the time frame when this was discovered? The '50's...so for 60 years we have ALL known about this...and it didn't become an issue until it was the size of Texas. For the life of me... I can't think of any company I worked for that dumped loads of plastic into the ocean. Would it be fair to say that ALL of us are responsible for its existence?

We've known that plastics are recyclable for decades. Are you personally responsible for any of the 70% of waste that nationally goes to a landfill instead of being recycled?

Remember that plastic bag that flew out the car window? Did you retrieve it, or just giggle and go about your business? Have you educated yourself, and your family how to recycle , and what the plastic symbols stand for? Remember that monitor you changed out, or cell phone you replaced...for the sake of getting the newest and best available? How many times have you made a conscious effort to buy a refurbished or recycled product instead of getting the brand new one? If you haven't taken any steps to make the world a better place...then you should really consider stepping down off the soap box. Pointing fingers is easy to do.. working as a team to fix a situation that is growing out of control isn't quite as easy. And again...for the most part, I know that myself and my colleagues are in support of you..we are not trolls under a "green" bridge.

Remember the 60 minutes article? I'll remind you, I found it posted on an environmentally "green" site..and it was posted as yet another reason for the prohibition of plastic. The majority of plastic materials in a monitor have little relationship to the hazards of a "dirty operation". Materials such as lead and mercury are not used in methods of plastic production. Are they burning plastic components? Sure...but we did not ship product straight to China to be dismantled by slumlords and their laborers. The individuals who participate in this are not a true representation of the morals of our industry...many of us took on the responsibilities of TS-16949 (Environmental Standard) the recent bashing we have recieved as an industry. We are not cold-hearted vermon with no love of the planet. Just like you, we want to reverse the past by researching our future.

It is up to us all to make a difference. We are here to help. Here is how you can help:

Educate yourselves on what can and can't be recycled.

Participate in clean up operations locally.

Buy products that use recycled material whenever possible. There is a misconception that these materials are of a lower grade, and more prone to wear. This simply isn't true.

Replace items that can't be used... not to get the latest technology.

Push government leaders to develop better recycling programs that are operated for your benefit, and weed out the operations that don't follow an environmental protocol. Support the people who have proven their support of you, the consumer.

There are many projects we are working on to make recycling cleaner, more efficient and earth friendly. A few bad apples never ruins the whole barrel.. as long as they are sorted and removed quickly.

We are Mars...you are Venus. You see the debris field as a biological nightmare. I see it as a potential fuel source capable of cutting your energy bill. Let's hope I'm right...