myPlasticsindustry

My Knowlegde 04-21-08

My Knowledge

Week in Review
PUBLISHED 04/21/2008

Awareness Building Of Inefficient Plastic Recycling

Most communities do not recycle plastic efficiently. In Arlington (TX), for instance, the city's recycling coordinator, Lorrie Anderle, says even though plastic bags are recyclable, they cannot go in curbside pick-up because they gum up automated sorting equipment. The Arlington City Council is considering banning plastic bags. But meanwhile, companies like Trex, a manufacturer of composite decking, railing and fencing, turns millions of pounds of recycled plastic grocery bags into building materials. ...The Dallas Morning News, 4.17.2008
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Industry Efforts To Save Plastic Shopping Bags Point Out Some Advantages

The plastic bag industry argues that 92 percent of consumers recycle bags by reusing them for other purposes ranging from doggie duty to lunch bags. A message now printed on Target plastic bags promotes the industry argument that bags are useful, listing 10 uses for them. "Every state where bans or bag taxes were proposed, governments came around to recycling education once they learn the facts," said Keith Christman, director for the Progressive Bag Affiliates, a bag trade group. Consider Pamela Muller, a marine science professor at the University of South Florida. "There's a half-dozen cloth shopping bags in my car, but I still get a few plastic bags for other jobs like trash can bags," she said. The surplus she files in store recycling bins. ...St. Petersburg Times, 4.15.2008
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Bag Basics: Adored, Deplored And Ubiquitous

Come next Tuesday, in a move flagrantly timed to coincide with Earth Day, the Whole Foods supermarket chain will no longer offer its customers the plastic bag option. Bravo. Now tell me this: What am I supposed to line my garbage cans with? I always use plastic supermarket bags, and the Whole Foods ones were by far my favorites — roomy and springy enough to hold a lot of sodden waste without fear of breakage, always a plus when one is disposing of, say, fish skins or cat litter. So if I have to buy plastic bags by the box, that’s better for the environment how? ...New York Times, 4.15.2008
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Sheffield Plastics' Relocation Temptation

Sheffield Plastics, an anchor of Sheffield, Massachusetts’ industrial life for 59 years, is outgrowing its two plants because demand for durable plastic materials is on the rise. Employees and city officials worry about a potential relocation scenario involving Ohio, where the company already has two facilities. ...Berkshire Eagle, 4.15.2008
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National Toxicology Program Releases Brief On Bisphenol-A

The NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR), an interagency program headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health, released a brief on Bisphenol-A . The brief is solely for the purpose of public comment and pre-dissemination peer review. Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical produced in large quantities for use primarily in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. ...House Committee On Energy And Commerce, 4.15.2008
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