Some plastics, depending on the design, are very beneficial and will last nearly forever. The U of Georgia pages when I was googling "fish attractors" have some good plastics that protect minnows and smaller fish from being prey as they provide a myriad of holes the smaller fish can go into in flight from the attacker. They can also be quite hook proof if constructed properly. I recently designed a couple attractor/spawning stations I think would work very well, but have run into a roadblock as the TVA here in Tennessee will not allow plastics of any sort in the reservoirs, natural materials only....so I'll be testing with permission in private ponds. I agree it can be overdone, but also when you see alot of them, they will soon be overgrown with mold and small aquatic plants, benefitting minnows and the food chain as well as the fishing benefits by larger fish using the shade. The great thing about plastics is they can be used forever and can be moved to better locations from time to time. Overdone, it's very much like robbor states.