myPlasticsindustry

My Knowledge 12-05-2007

My Knowledge

Week in Review
PUBLISHED 12/05/2007

Bag Makers Defend Plastic

The plastic bag industry is fighting back. Tired of being cast as an environmental villain, it is challenging proposals in several U.S. cities to limit the use of plastic bags at supermarkets and other retail stores. A few of the nation's largest plastic bag manufacturers, including a Houston company called Superbag Corp., are behind the effort. And there are signs it is starting to make a difference. Some cities, including Austin, that once considered plastic bag bans, like one approved by San Francisco this spring, have begun leaning toward a different option, heavily favored by plastic bag makers: recycling. Houston Mayor Bill White also recently expressed support for recycling plastic bags over a ban, although the city is not actively weighing specific initiatives for either approach. Generally, recycling programs would require supermarkets and other large retail stores to collect, transport and recycle plastic carryout bags they give customers and to train sackers to use fewer bags. ...Houston Chronicle 12.2.07
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Recycled Plastic: AERT Aims To Capitalize On Green-Friendly Protocol

Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc. likes to say it was “green” long before mainstream home builders came around to the emerging trend now sweeping the industry. The Springdale manufacturer has used recycled plastic and waste wood to make window sills and other building products since its founding in 1989. The green trend is giving AERT a marketing opportunity to capitalize on its landfillfriendly manufacturing strategy. The company plans to differentiate its MoistureShield decking product from the competition’s with its new “90 percent total recycled content” label. AERT said its environmental label, based on an obscure international manufacturing protocol, authenticates the “greenness” of its product. However, some manufacturers say no green standards for individual building products exist, but that these types of labels are likely to emerge as consumer preferences for green products continue to grow. The mainstream American consumer started to shiftthinking about green products around 2005, said Al Drinkwater, AERT’s senior vice president of administration. ...Arkansas Democrat Gazette 12.2.07
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City May Order Styrofoam To Go

Paper and plastic containers are OK, but Styrofoam soon could be a no-no in Richmond. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin is pushing for a ban on polystyrene food packaging and other ways to divert waste from landfills. The proposed ban would affect any establishment that serves food and drink in plastic foam cups and containers, including national chains. Merchants would be asked to switch to biodegradable products. "People have been asking me to bring this up for a year now," McLaughlin said. "Cities like Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland have already done this. We need to recycle more and get rid of bad materials." It is unclear to what extent businesses would be affected. Styrofoam is popular among eateries in part because it costs about half as much as other materials. "It will impact businesses like restaurants and food services," said Judy Morgan, president of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. "It will impact some, others would welcome it." At Andy's Donuts on 23rd Street, where tall stacks of polystyrene cups sit behind the counter, owner Alberta Heltsley said her customers prefer Styrofoam. ...Contra Costa Times 12.2.07
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Plastics Firm Seeking Machinists

Located off the aptly named Industrial Drive in a nondescript cluster of buildings, Cope Plastics Inc. is easy to overlook. "Most people don't even know it's here. They think it's plastic bottles and buckets," said Daniel Coffman, operations trainer for employees at Cope Plastics, 4441 Industrial Drive. "It's not like that." The 61-year-old, family-owned company manufactures plastic parts for thousands of everyday items -- from welding parts to food storage covers -- but Coffman said he hopes potential employees are not overlooking Cope, as well. Bucking the trend of decreasing manufacturing employment in the Metro East's once-booming industrial economy, the company is having trouble filling jobs. Coffman said demand for plastics has increased, because parts that traditionally were made of metal now are being poured from the lighter, disposable material. Reacting to the demand for more jobs, the company has begun inviting high school students inside its doors on field trips that also serve as recruitment fairs. ...The Telegraph 11.28.07
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Ingredient In Plastic Prompts Fierce Debate

Tucson Realtor Erika O'Dowd switched from hard plastic to soft plastic bottles for her year-old daughter after reading a recent magazine article warning that chemicals in the hard plastic are dangerous. "We decided it wasn't worth the risk, and we might as well toss them," O'Dowd said. But longtime Tucson hiker Linda Miller isn't about to stop drinking water out of hard plastic bottles when she's on mountain trails unless someone proves they cause serious illness. Their opposite reactions reflect divisions across the country over the safety of a key chemical used to make these bottles, bisphenol A. Manufactured since the 1930s, used more heavily each decade, it is growing more controversial by the month. There are no federal restrictions on the use of bisphenol A, which some scientists say leaches out of certain hard plastic bottles and into the liquids we drink. The chemical has been found at low levels in the blood of a sample of people large enough to represent 95 percent of all U.S. residents, says the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But even scientists working for federal agencies and review panels disagree over the risks. ...RedOrbit 12.1.07
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