Plastics company recycles lures

I saw an eagle while driving to work last week. It was a real, honest-to-goodness mature adult bald eagle, its snowy white head contrasting against its dark body while it soared through an opening in the treetops.

The eagle reminded me just how far we have come in our environmental awareness. Not so many years ago the symbol of our American freedom was on the verge of extinction. The only people who saw wild eagles were those who ventured into the Northwoods or the Alaskan wilderness.

We have made progress in cleaning up the environment, and today eagles live in the Mahoning Valley. But we still have much to accomplish. And that’s something a lure company in Michigan seeks to do something about.

The company is Houghton Lake, Mich.-based Case Plastics, which makes soft, plastic fishing lures. President Tom Taylor is starting a movement aimed at recycling anglers’ torn and shredded plastic baits so they can once again be useful in attracting bites from game-fish species.

One of the first drop-off sites for the “go green” soft-plastic bait movement is at Mosquito Creek Reservoir’s Causeway Sporting Goods store on state Route 88 in Mecca Township. Bass angler Mike McCoy worked with Causeway’s ownership to establish the collection site.

McCoy moved to the Cleveland area after 14 years in the U.S. Marine Corps to be closer to the family of his wife Jennifer, whose parents reside in Mentor.

“I partnered with Case Plastics because they have the same philosophies that I believe in, and that is to take care of our lakes and streams so that future generations can enjoy them just as much as we have today,” McCoy said. “I am a firm believer in giving back to the community by donating products that otherwise would have gone to waste. This product has been made new again and will be put to good use through charity functions.”

Case Plastics’ Taylor said his plan is to remelt the ripped-up baits and mold them into fresh worms, tubes and other soft plastics that his company will donate to charity fishing events for disabled people and children.

His objective is to establish numerous locations where anglers can drop off their old soft plastics.

“We’re in the beginning stages of the project, so we don’t know exactly how far it will grow, but just by word-of-mouth, I can see this has great potential,” Taylor said.

The idea was planted by a bass club with which Case Plastics has a sponsorship arrangement, Taylor said. The club was aware of an effort started by trout anglers in the Northeast states to ban soft plastics because trout cannot digest them.

“I said, ‘Yeah, we can recycle them’, and the idea took off from there,” Taylor said.

Case Plastics encourages clubs and organizations to participate. As interest grows, drop-off locations will be established and publicized. The company manufactures and markets a complete line of soft-plastic lures, as well as the Whacky Tool, which anglers use to easily rig plastic worms “whacky-style.”

Information about Case Plastics can be obtained at www.caseplastics.com. Those who wish to touch base with Taylor can reach him via e-mail at fishingcompleteinc@yahoo.com. McCoy can be reached at gotmyfive@gmail.com.

Both Taylor and McCoy will be pleased to work with organizations in getting their spent plastic lures into the recycling stream.

And the eagles will be happy, too.

jack@innismaggiore.com