Resolution Adopted January 26, 1999 by the 1. Whereas, the commitment of Winona County to the recovery of plastics through its recycling program has extended over twelve years; and 2. Whereas, over the course of these twelve years Winona County as recovered over two thousand tons of plastics from its residents and businesses, and; 3. Whereas, while the market value of recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate - the soda bottle) has varied widely over these years, never before have we found ourselves in today's crisis situation, where we must pay to market our PET plastics; and 4. Whereas, this marketing crisis could potentially result in the decision to stop the recycling of PET plastics altogether in Winona County; and 5. Whereas, Winona County has long promoted the use of recycled products through its purchasing practices, educational efforts and the extensive support of market development initiatives; and 6. Whereas, FDA-approved technology exists today to incorporate recycled PET into new beverage containers, and in fact is being done by Coca-Cola itself in many nations throughout the world; and 7. Whereas, it is widely acknowledged that the use of recycled PET in the production of beverage containers would have an enormous positive impact on the value of recycled PET; and 8. Whereas, the Coca-Cola Company has made the marketing decision to increase its use of PET plastic, and move away from the use of easily recyclable glass and aluminum, for their containers; and 9. Whereas, we were thankful when the Coca-Cola Company voluntarily committed to using recycled PET in their containers in 1990, at a time when many states were considering bottle bill initiatives to bring about increased recycling; Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Winona County Board of Commissioners goes on record in support of the consumer action calling on Coca-Cola to use recycled PET in their bottles, thereby closing the recycling loop, and returning a measure of rationality and profitability to the operations of our nation's public and private recycling programs.
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