Plastics News
Current Trending Topics in the News with Links to Articles:
- Governmental and Lobbying:
EPA puts styrene, plastics compounds under review
The Environmental Protection Agency said Dec. 18 that it’s starting a human health review of styrene, ethylbenzene and several other plastics feedstocks as it also moves ahead with a detailed, long-debated toxicity assessment of vinyl chloride.
The agency announced it would look at five chemicals — styrene, ethylbenzene, benzene, 4-tert-Octylphenol and naphthalene — to see if they should be designated as high-priority substances for health assessments under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
It’s a continuation of the agency’s broader review of health concerns around plastics feedstocks.
Plastics, glass, metal recyclers unite in call for joint EPR, bottle bills
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/plastics-glass-metal-recyclers-call-joint-epr-bottle-bills
Plastics recyclers and PET resin maker Indorama are part of a coalition urging Rhode Island to adopt a combination of a bottle bill and extended producer responsibility law, calling it the best shot at reaching high container recycling rates and greener packaging.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers, along with associations for the metal and glass packaging industries, told the state’s Joint Legislative Commission to Protect Our Environment from Plastic Bottle Waste that conditions are “ripe” for the U.S.’s first joint deposit and EPR program.
Such a dual program would get container recycling rates to at least 80 percent, the business groups argued, a huge jump from the 33 percent nationally for PET bottles and 43 percent for aluminum cans.
- Features and News Articles:
European resin prices see minor changes to close out 2024
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/european-resin-prices-see-minor-changes-close-out-2024
In November, the European resin pricing picture was dominated by rollovers or even small price reductions, despite an increase in the cost of feedstock.
Polyethylene prices softened by 10 euros per metric ton during November despite a €30 per tonne rise for the ethylene contract price. Polypropylene and polystyrene prices remain mostly unchanged from the previous month despite increases of €25 per tonne for propylene and an increase of €5 per tonne for the styrene monomer reference price. PET prices fell by €40 per tonne. PVC was once again the only polymer class to show a positive price trend with price gains of €10 per tonne.
With the end of 2024 approaching, most polymer classes are seeing modest price adjustments in December. Given the lower monomer settlements and destocking activities by converters, pricing remains under downward pressure for polyolefins. PVC, PS, and PET classes are being rolled over due to the reduced trading days in December, along with profitability concerns and the diminishing competitiveness of imported material.
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:
Vinyl recycling and second chances
A project to show how vinyl building products can be easily recycled also provided a facelift for a home in Louisville, Ky., where a non-profit group runs an out-patient program helping people transform their lives.
The New Leaf Clinic provides transitional housing for individuals coping with substance abuse disorders, mental illness or both.
One of the group’s houses got an exterior update thanks to the Revinylize Recycling Collaborative — a national recycling program started by the Polymeric Exterior Products Association (PEPA) — and project partners Westlake Royal Building Products and Mueller Distributors.
PEPA recently identified a potential 300 million pounds of post-consumer vinyl siding ready for recycling each year.
Ohio researchers win $2M for efforts to recycle EV battery plastics
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/akron-researchers-win-2-million-ev-battery-recycling-efforts
Ohio’s University of Akron is using $2 million in federal funding to continue working to develop methods to recycle plastics from batteries used in electric vehicles.
The award, announced in November by legislative supporter and U.S. Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes, D-Akron, s part of a larger $44.8 million spend by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office.
“This money came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and each project is aimed at improving the economics of recycling EV batteries and their components,” Sykes’s announcement stated.
The university, in a city that’s also the center of a sustainable polymer industry hub that’s also received more than $80 million in federal and state funding, is focused on ways to reclaim and recycle the plastics that go into, or more accurately around EV batteries, said a lead researcher, James Eagan.
US Plastics Pact calls for ‘urgent collective action’ on packaging
The U.S. Plastics Pact’s progress toward greener plastics packaging is showing mixed results, with positive moves around packaging redesign but more modest gains around recycled content use, according to the group’s latest report.
The pact, a voluntary effort that says its member companies put one-third of plastic packaging on the U.S. market, pointed to some progress in its Dec. 17 report.
It noted that 50 percent of its members’ plastic packaging was reported as being reusable, recyclable or compostable in 2023, up from 36 percent in 2021.
But the report, which covered 2023 data, said pact companies averaged 11 percent recycled or responsibly sourced bio-based content in their plastic packaging, up only modestly from 8 percent in 2021.
Upcoming Events:
Plastics News Executive Forum
Hilton La Jolla, Torrey Pines
La Jolla, CA
March 10-11, 2025
For details and to register: https://www.plasticsnewsevents.com/event/d8450920-6038-4f9b-b0d3-2d438472b570/summary?utm_term=Home&utm_campaign=EF2025NavBar&utm_medium=Onsite&utm_content=Home&utm_source=PNMKT_Dedicated
Plastics Recycling World Magazine
Link to November/December Issue:
https://content.yudu.com/web/1rl19/0A42x3p/PRWNov24/html/index.html?origin=reader
Color fidelity: targeting accuracy in PCR plastics
New colorants, equipment, and measuring technologies address variability and sortability. PCR carriers for color masterbatches have also been launched.
New technologies for sorting mixed PCR can provide single-color streams, which greatly aids consistency of the incoming material, In addition, new technologies for measurement and control offer tools for more precisely matching color and for correcting the variability often found in PCR.
Finding consistency using in-line rheology control
For compounds containing recycled plastics to be used in high-value applications, they need to be as consistent in quality as compounds based entirely on virgin polymers. That is a major challenge for companies reprocessing post-consumer material with all its variability in quality. Meet your new best friend: an in-line rheometer – this is the basis of the new offerings from European institutes aiming to help compounders smooth out the variations of recycled content.
Distributors increase profits in harsh market conditions
In polymer supply, Europe is increasingly becoming a distributors’ market. Producer partnerships are key to success.
Novel technologies advance PET recycling
Microwave treatment and enzyme-based depolymerization represent emerging technology advances in recycling methods for waste PET. The innovative approaches to decontaminating and purifying waste PET materials also promote energy savings and an environmental reduction.
Upcoming Events:
Plastics Recycling Technology
June 10 – 11, 2025.
Long Beach, CA
Information and Registration: https://www.ami-events.com/event/8663c550-b6d5-496e-9ca3-15f9fd54094e/summary?RefId=Advert_AMI_magazine
