[GreenYes] Re: Eco-Cycle support for bioplastics

["Pat Franklin" <pfranklin@no.address>]

Dear Eric,

I have great respect for you, but I'm afraid I have to disagree with the
"wait and see" approach.  Now is the time to ask questions about the PLA
bottle, if it is not already too late. There's a big difference between
criticizing a product or process, and asking hard questions about the
potential environmental and economic impacts of that product or process.
This is not the time to put a halt to questions that many people have about
the bioplastics industry in general and the PLA bottle in particular. I hope
members of this listserv will continue to seek answers to their questions.
The PLA bottle could have a profound impact on both our environment and our
economy.

Pat

****************************************
Patricia Franklin
Executive Director
Container Recycling Institute
1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20036-1904
Tel.(202) 263-0999   Fax: (202) 263-0949
www.container-recycling.org and  www.bottlebill.org






  -----Original Message-----
  From: GreenYes@no.address [mailto:GreenYes@no.address]On
Behalf Of Alan Muller
  Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 9:39 AM
  To: Eric Lombardi; GreenYes@no.address
  Subject: [GreenYes] Re: Eco-Cycle support for bioplastics


  At 02:04 PM 2/14/2006 -0700, Eric Lombardi wrote:

    Dear GreenYessers,

    The real reason I?m writing this is to ask you all, and your networks,
to give the bioplastics industry some time to d velop before we criticize
them too heavily.

  [...]


    The piece below is interesting (not great), and says that we need to be
more supportive of Big Corporate Small Steps.  Well, maybe? but in the case
of NW, they took a big step in building that Nebraska PLA production
facility ($300 million, or something like that).  Their product isn?t
perfect, but I?m convinced it?s a good step toward a carbohydrate economy.


  This is a tough issue, philosophically and practically.  As someone who
has been a corporate greenwasher as well as an on-the-edge activist (at
least by Delaware standards) I think activists are often in a no-win
situation.  How can one distinguish the greenwashing motivation from the
experimenting-with-change-motivation.  Does it matter?  With "business"
reporters usually regurgitating corporate press releases, doesn't somebody
need to inject a cautionary note?  But we don't want to be perceived as the
"oppose everything" people....  Do we gain or lose influence by taking a
position?   Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing.

  I personally feel the US agricultural system is so profoundly
unsustainable that it's hard to get excited about bio-fuels and
bio-polymers. If there is a significant market segment for crops that don't
have to make a pretence of being edible by man or beast, with practices get
even worse......?

  Alan

  Alan Muller, Executive Director
  Green Delaware
  Box 69
  Port Penn, DE 19731 USA
  (302)834-3466
  fax (302)836-3005
  greendel@no.address
  www.greendel.org




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