Plastics News
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Current Trending Topics in the News with Links to Articles:
- Governmental and Lobbying:
PFAS regulatory landscape remains a dizzying world of ambiguity
A lack of uniform regulations by continent, country — even by state — has made adherence to PFAS regulations a difficult proposition for rubber and plastics companies.
“It’s the states that have me concerned,” said William Heslip, chemical regulatory stewardship compliance manager with Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies. “I would characterize the PFAS landscape as ambiguous at best.”
Heslip spoke Aug. 8 as part of the EH&S Summit in Indianapolis, an annual gathering organized by the Association for Rubber Product Manufacturers and the Manufacturers Association for Plastic Processors.
“PFAS has great properties for a bunch of different applications,” Heslip said. “It has great water and oil resistance, and it has extremely high temperature resistance due to its carbon-fluorine bond, which gives these chemicals very high stability.”
US-China relations may have a big impact on polyethylene
https://www.plasticsnews.com/one-good-resin/polyethylene-could-be-affected-us-china-relations
As the U.S. polyethylene resin market approaches a 50 percent export rate, let’s check in with the always insightful John Richardson.
Richardson, a market analyst with ICIS, pointed out in a recent blog post that U.S. exports of high density PE to China more than tripled in 2023, surging from less than 500 million pounds to almost 1.7 billion pounds.
At the same time, Chinese imports of HDPE from Saudi Arabia fell 13 percent, with United Arab Emirates down 23 percent, Iran down 38 percent and South Korea down 13 percent in that category.
Richardson said market trends favoring the U.S. were similar for low and linear low density PE. But he added this geopolitical mix might be short-lived, even though the trend of higher U.S. PE exports to China continued in the first half of 2024.
- Features and News Articles:
Polymer Points Live August 2024: Will commodity resin prices keep rising? (Video and Article)
https://www.plasticsnews.com/livestreams/will-commodity-resin-prices-keep-rising
July was an active month for resin pricing, with buyers of most major commodity resins seeing increases. Will that trend continue in August and September?
In the Aug. 20 Polymer Points editorial livestream, Frank Esposito explained why polyethylene and polypropylene prices were both up 5 cents per pound in July despite lackluster domestic demand. (Recording).
Esposito took a detailed look at supply, demand and feedstock trends this summer and talked about how they may impact pricing this month and going forward.
European recycled resin prices soften as costs fall
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/european-recycled-resin-prices-soften-costs-fall
Recycled plastics prices turned downward in Europe in June following a rising trend over the previous three months. In early July, recyclate prices appeared to be coming under further downward pressure.
In June, recycled PET clear food-grade pellet prices fell by €30 per metric ton with colored flake prices declining by €10 per tonne due largely to the lower cost of bottle scrap. Clear flake prices, on the other hand, actually increased because of tighter availability. Recycled PET prices are expected to fall slightly this month as a result of lower costs and slackening demand.
In June, recycled low density polyethylene prices declined €10-30 per tonne, depending on product type, due to lower costs and slackening demand. Prices are expected to either be rolled over or soften slightly this month.
Recycled PP pellet prices continue to climb
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/recycled-pp-pellet-prices-continue-climb
Prices for post-industrial polypropylene pellets have continued to increase in North America during the third quarter of 2024.
On average, recycled PP resin pricing has increased by 2 cents per pound according to Plastics News sources. These changes are shown in this week’s PN resin pricing chart.
“Supply has been driven down, which has been forcing demand up on a purchasing side of things,” a Midwest recycler said. “There’s been some extended changeover going on, it is slowly picking back up.”
Recycled PP has been increasing since the fourth quarter of 2023. Prices had dropped in the beginning of 2023 due to low demand.
“I do think we could see a 1 to 2 cent increase steady over the next couple months,” added the source.
Material Insights: Resin prices looking mixed for August (includes video short)
https://www.plasticsnews.com/video/resin-prices-looking-mixed-august
Will polyethylene and polypropylene prices continue to increase in August, or will sellers give back some of the gaIns they saw in July? In the August Polymer Points Live, Frank Esposito talked about what’s on the table for commodity resin buyers in August, including PE, PP, polystyrene, PVC and PET.
In the livestream, Esposito and Don Loepp also discussed the impact of the United Nations plastics treaty on resin markets, plus pricing change for recycled resins.
Mergers & Acquisition Tracker
Updated list of merger and acquisition deals within the plastics industry. Details include the buyer and the company or assets being purchased, along with a link to read more about each transaction.
- Recycling and Sustainability:
Material Insights: Growing interest in recycling medical plastics
https://www.plasticsnews.com/video/can-you-recycle-medical-plastics-theres-growing-interest-health-care
The health care sector is a major market for single-use plastics, but that could be changing as the supply chain is facing growing pressure to become more sustainable.
In the August Sustainable Plastics Live, Karen Laird talked about how recycling is getting a foothold in the medical market.
Laird, the editor of Sustainable Plastics magazine, noted that 85 percent of medical plastics are not contaminated, and could easily be mechanically recycled. OEMs are also looking at bio-based and chemically recycled resins as alternatives to conventional virgin plastics, to help reduce their carbon footprint.
Industrial Resin Recycling invests $2.3M to tap into post-consumer market
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/industrial-resin-recycling-invests-23m-new-capabilities
Industrial Resin Recycling Inc. has invested $2.3 million to expand its capabilities, increase capacity and break into the post-consumer recycling market.
In the Howell facility, the company has added two different lines for post-industrial automotive materials. One of the lines was relocated from its Piedmont, Ala., plant to add woven materials to this facility. The addition of these lines has increased capacity by 40 percent.
The company has also installed a new MAS twin-screw extruder at its plant in Fowlerville, Mich., increasing capacity by 80 percent while also decreasing energy usage.
The addition of these new machines was supported by Ravago Group, a strategic partner.
APR offers new guidelines to help promote plastics recycling
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/apr-out-new-guidelines-help-promote-plastics-recycling
The Association of Plastic Recyclers is out with a new recognition program designed to promote more recycling.
The Preferred Design Recognition Program allows brands, manufacturers and converters to receive formal APR Design for Recyclability Recognition for complete PET, high density polyethylene or polypropylene packages or components. To receive recognition, the package or component must meet APR’s definition of “preferred” in the trade group’s Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability.
“This marks the end of a 15-month effort, spanning all APR technical committees, to fully align the PDR Pathway with the APR Design Guide,” said Ruben Nance, APR program director for PDR, in a statement. “The APR Design for Recyclability Recognition Program now provides appropriate pathways for manufacturers and converters to reliably assess the recyclability of their PET, HDPE, or PP packaging components, as well as creating a resource for brands to easily find recyclable packaging options.”
Plastics Recycling World Magazine
Link to July/August Issue: https://content.yudu.com/web/1rl19/0A42x3p/PRWJulAug24/html/index.html?refUrl=https%253A%252F%252Fmagazines.amiplastics.com%252F
Washing Tech Firms Go with the Flow
Developments in business, technology, and regional markets are behind the progress of washing modules in plastics recycling.
Improving the quality of recycled plastics is driving advancements in the efficiency and accuracy of washing equipment. Technology suppliers say their latest designs pursue higher purity fractions coupled with economic consumption of energy, water, and detergents.
Partners Push Ahead in Chemical Recycling
Projects to bring chemical recycling into production are focusing not just on polyolefins but also PLA, PET, tyre rubber, and carbon black.
Expansion of E-Waste and Auto Recycling
Sustainability and regulatory pressures are behind a surge of activity by industry groups aiming to improve recycling of used electronics and old cars.
Brussels Expo Preview
Plastics industry leaders witll gather at AMI’s Plastics Recycling World Expo in Brussels in September. Get a preview of the speakers and the topics they will be covering.
Also, get an overview of those groups exhibiting at the Expo.
Upcoming Events:
AMI Plastics Recycling World Expo – Europe
September 11 – 12, 2024
Brussels, Belgium
For details and to register: https://eu.compoundingworldexpo.com/enquire-about-exhibiting
AMI Plastics Recycling Technology
October 23 – 24, 2024
Vienna, Austria
For details and to register: https://www.ami-events.com/event/bc7e919f-830f-4c9b-9963-e5ca9f7f7b47/summary?RefId=Advert_AMI_magazine
AMI Plastics Recycling World Expo – North America
November 13-14, 2024
Cleveland, Ohio
For details and to register: https://na.plasticsrecyclingworldexpo.com/exhibit/become-an-exhibitor
