Letter to the Editor

Ties questionable for deposit advocate

Dennis Muchmore, who wrote the guest column, "A deposit for our future -- expanding bottle law to noncarbonated drinks" [If You Ask Me, July 7], is legal counsel for his own lobbying firm Muchmore, Harrington, Smalley & Associates.

It represents Nestle, which bottles water in the state, and Waste Management in Michigan.

One might say his lobbying firm's motto for Michigan seems to be trash in, water out.
How seriously can anyone take his position to expand the bottle bill by going through our Legislature, when the votes definitely are not there and never have been?

The original 1976 bottle bill was passed by a citizen's initiative. Why isn't Muchmore putting his money where his mouth is and raising the millions of dollars that will be necessary to pass another citizen initiative?

A true conservationist would stop buying bottled water and go to tap water, while trying to raise the tipping fees to stop drawing trash into Michigan.

Andy Everman
Flushing

http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/voices/index.ssf/2008/07/flint_journal_letters_to_the_e_71.html