Upcoming Events:
Plastics News Executive Forum
Dates: Monday, March 11, 2024 – Thursday, March 14, 2024
Location: Wyndham Grand, Clearwater Beach, FL
Details: Coming Soon
Current Trending Topics in the News with Links to Articles:
- Governmental and Lobbying:
EPA wants 15% recycled content in plastic packaging for ecolabel
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to require plastic packaging to have at least 15 percent recycled content to be part of the agency’s Safer Choice ecolabel program, but the proposal is running into resistance over how EPA should treat chemical recycling technologies.
The agency is proposing the new requirement for 15 percent recycled content as it updates its Safer Choice program, which aims to help consumers identify less toxic or better-for-the-environment products.
- Features and News Articles:
Plastics News names Processor of the Year finalists, Sustained Excellence winner
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/processor-year-finalists-sustained-excellence-winner-announced
PTI Engineered Plastics, Radius Packaging and Redline Plastics LLC are finalists for the 2023 Plastics News Processor of the Year award.
PN also has a 2023 Sustained Excellence award winner: Mack Molding Co. The company is a rarity in the plastics industry, a processor that’s more than 100 years old.
All four companies will be recognized at the 2024 Plastics News Executive Forum, March 11-13 in Clearwater Beach, Fla., where the Processor of the Year winner will be revealed. The companies also will be profiled in PN‘s March 25 issue.
New study blames chemicals in plastics for $250B in US health care costs
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/chemicals-plastics-add-250-billion-year-us-health-costs-study-says
Four endocrine-disrupting chemicals commonly used in plastics cost the U.S. an estimated $250 billion a year in increased medical bills from treating diseases like cancer and diabetes, according to a new study published by the Endocrine Society.
The study, from academics and the group Defend Our Health and funded in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said that amounts to a little more than 1 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.
The paper was published Jan. 11 in the Journal of the Endocrine Society and said it’s one of the first to break out the plastics share of health costs from exposure to flame retardants, bisphenol A, phthalates and perfluoroalkyl substances used in plastics.
PET bottle resin, nylon, PC close out 2023 with price drops
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/pet-bottle-resin-nylon-pc-close-out-2023-price-drops
North American PET bottle resin prices dropped a total of 3 cents per pound on average in November and December while prices for nylon and polycarbonate continued to fall through the last quarter of 2023.
Market sources cited lower demand and steady feedstock costs as reasons for the PET price drop. Prices had fallen 4 cents in October.
PET prices finished 2023 down a net of 4 cents per pound. PET demand was lower than expected in 2023, even during the warmer summer months.
Bottled water — the largest beverage segment in the U.S. and a major consumer of PET — continues to grow, but has slowed in recent years, according to a recent report from the Beverage Marketing Corp. consulting firm.
Plastics treaty talks ‘not in a good place’; search is on for path forward
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/plastics-treaty-talks-not-good-place-searching-path-forward
After the last round of plastics treaty talks in Kenya ended in a stalemate, and with less than a year left to complete negotiations, advocates for an ambitious agreement are calling for stepped-up action to avoid what they see as a weak treaty.
“I think we all feel 2024 is such an important year when it comes to negotiations, and we’re not in a good place,” said Kirsten Schuijt, director general of WWF International, speaking at a Jan. 17 online panel from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“From our perspective, we need to think really smartly and sharply about how do we use the next negotiations to keep a very practical approach, knowing that if we wait for a treaty that will be a consensus treaty that will engage all the countries, it’s going to be a watered down and vague treaty,” she said. “That’s unfortunately the stage we have reached.”
Resin price hikes may follow Gulf Coast freezing temperatures
https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/resin-price-hikes-may-follow-gulf-coast-freezing-temperatures
Production of some resins and feedstocks is being affected by freezing weather on the U.S. Gulf Coast, which could hit the availability of feedstocks, leading to higher prices.
Temperatures in the Houston area fell below freezing the night of Jan. 15, leading several suppliers to reduce rates or to shut down production units, according to a report from research firm ICIS. Sub-zero temperatures also are expected Jan. 20.
Ethylene and propylene units operated by Formosa Plastics Corp. USA in Point Comfort, Texas, were affected by the cold, the report said. In an email to Plastics News, Formosa spokesperson Amy Blanchett said that the firm “does not comment on operational issues or plant status unless we anticipate a substantive impact on the marketplace.”
Recycled PET resin prices on the rise
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/recycled-pet-resin-prices-rise
Prices are continuing to rise for recycled PET resin pellets.
Sources told Plastics News recycled PET resin prices increased by an average of 5 cents per pound during the last quarter.
Clear post-consumer PET resin prices increased by 6 cents and green post-consumer pellets are up by 4 cents. These price changes are shown on this week’s Plastics News resin pricing chart.
Nanoplastics more prevalent in bottled water than previously thought, study says
New research indicates bottled-water drinkers are ingesting nanoplastics and microplastics on a scale far larger than previously thought.
Just 1 liter of bottled water contains an estimated 240,000 of these tiny pieces of plastic — smaller than the eye can see — that go undetected through conventional examination.
A new analysis, with results just published in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences aimed to better understand the levels of both nanoplastics and microplastics being consumed.
Some resins settle flat in December, but cold weather may bring back volatility
For North American resin prices, 2023 ended with price drops for three commodity resins in December.
Prices for PVC, polystyrene and PET ticked down for the month, while prices for polyethylene and polypropylene were flat, according to market sources contacted by Plastics News.
Flat pricing for PE and PP in December surprised some market watchers who were expecting price drops for the month as suppliers purged their inventories to end the year. PE prices ended the year flat for three straight months after moving up 3 cents in both August and September. Counting those increases, regional PE prices were up a net of 9 cents so far in 2023.
Europe’s recycled PET downward price spiral finally ends
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/recycled-pet-downward-price-spiral-finally-ends
In December, recycled plastic price movements varied widely. R-PET prices dipped by €10-20/tonne, R-HDPE, R-LDPE and R-HIPS prices were mostly stable. R-PP homopolymer prices increased slightly; R-PP copolymer prices fell by €10/tonne.
Recycled plastics faced growing competition from lower-priced virgin material and from a healthy supply of imported material in December. Demand virtually dried up as converters worked down stocks as end-of-year approached. In response, many recyclers shut down their facilities early to begin maintenance work.
Recycled plastics prices began the new year on a more positive note.
- Recycling and Sustainability:
2024 agenda: Sustainability, safety remain top priorities
https://www.plasticsnews.com/viewpoint/2024-agenda-sustainability-safety-remain-top-priorities
We’ve published our editorial agenda in the first issue of Plastics News every year since 2001. It’s the foundation for our weekly opinion columns, and it also offers a blueprint for a prosperous and sustainable plastics industry. Read on for a summary of Plastics News Editor’s evaluation/highlights for 2024…
Plastics Recycling World Magazine
The January/February issue has not yet been published.
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 World Expo – North America
November 13-14, 2024
Cleveland, Ohio
For details and to register: https://na.plasticsrecyclingworldexpo.com/exhibit/become-an-exhibitor