Montachem Media Monitoring Report, March 2023

Plastics News

Upcoming Events:

 

Current Trending Topics in the News with Links to Articles:

 

  1. Governmental and Lobbying:

 

Industry sees Biden bioplastics goal as serious signal

https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/industry-response-bidens-bioplastics-goal-important-signal

The White House’s ambitious bioplastics goals announced March 22 face many hurdles but some in that nascent industry see it as a clear sign that President Joe Biden’s administration wants to support more climate-friendly manufacturing.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s new bioeconomy road map calls for replacing 90 percent of traditional plastics with bio-based materials in 20 years.

The 64-page report, which outlines what it acknowledges are “bold goals,” is short on details of how to get there, saying the OSTP will work out research and development priorities and other actions in coming months.

Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials

https://www.plasticsnews.com/public-policy/biden-sets-us-goal-replace-90-plastics-biomaterials

President Joe Biden’s administration is setting a goal of replacing 90 percent of fossil fuel-based plastics with bio-based alternatives over the next two decades.

In a report released March 22, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) outlined what it called bold goals for helping the U.S. to be a leader in bioeconomy technology, produce low-carbon-intensity chemicals to fight climate change and shore up domestic supply chains.

 

Report urges treaty to regulate plastics like pharmaceuticals, limit growth

https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/report-urges-treaty-regulate-plastics-pharmaceuticals-limit-growth

A panel of prominent scientists and the Minderoo Foundation are out with a new report urging the global plastics treaty talks to set tough benchmarks for health testing of chemicals in plastics, similar to standards used in the pharmaceutical industry.

The March 21 report also put numbers behind what it said were premature deaths, heart disease or other health problems attributed to exposure to plastics additives including DEHP, PBDE and bisphenol A.

  

  1. Features and News Articles:

 

Closed Loop releases playbook to reduce single-use retail plastic bags

https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/closed-loop-releases-playbook-reduce-single-use-retail-plastic-bags

Closed Loop Partners has released a new playbook for retailers to reduce their use of single-use plastic bags.

Closed Loop helped form a Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag and its “Beyond the Bag” initiative in 2020. The effort now includes 15 retail partners representing more than 50,000 stores.

The playbook highlights strategies for retailers to reduce the number of single-use bags and to encourage consumers to use reusable bags. New York-based Closed Loop Partners is an investment firm focused on development of the circular economy.

The playbook covers communication, employee training, bag and fixture design and customer incentives.

Commodity prices rise; engineering resins drop

https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/commodity-resin-prices-rise-engineering-resin-prices-drop

 

The upward swing of commodity resin pricing continued in February, with higher prices reported for three materials.

North American polypropylene resins prices saw the biggest hike, jumping an average of 8 cents per pound. That increase reflected a 7-cent increase in prices for polymer-grade propylene (PGP) feedstock, with PP makers gaining 1 cent in margin improvement as well. PP prices had jumped up 11 cents in January, matching a similar move in PGP.

Engineering resin prices close the first quarter with a drop

https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/engineering-resin-prices-close-first-quarter-drop

Sluggish demand and high inventory levels at processors led to a drop in prices for some engineering resins.

Market sources told Plastics News that regional prices for nylon, polycarbonate and ABS resins all declined in the first quarter of 2023.

Regional prices for nylon 6 and 6/6 resins in the first quarter were down 6-9 cents per pound, on average, with PC prices down 4-5 cents and ABS down 5 cents, sources said. Additional price decreases of 2-6 cents per pound for these materials could be seen in the second quarter, sources said.

Those pricing changes also impact PC/ABS and nylon/ABS blends.

Looking for an explanation of a nonmarket correction? Join the crowd

https://www.plasticsnews.com/one-good-resin/looking-explanation-nonmarket-correction-join-crowd

There are many occupational hazards to compiling a resin pricing index.

In my case, doing that work for Plastics News for 20-plus years has led to hair loss, diminished eyesight and increased sarcasm. Others in the field might experience different symptoms.

Another occupational hazard of index work is the need to occasionally post nonmarket price corrections on some commodity resins. These are hard to explain, but they’re essentially year-end rebates. That might not be a 100 percent accurate definition, but that’s how they appear to many resin buyers.

 

  1. Recycling and Sustainability:

PureCycle now planning April startup for PP recycling plant

https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/purecycle-now-eyeing-april-startup-pp-recycling-plant

 

PureCycle Technologies Inc. is again pushing back the expected start date of the company’s polypropylene recycling plant in Ohio while indicating the ultimate price for the facility will be higher than originally anticipated.

The Orlando, Fla.-based company is now saying the firm’s first location in Ironton, Ohio, will be producing recycled PP pellets by the end of April. The company, at one point, had expected to begin production by the end of last year before later saying by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Recyclers face increasing number of challenges

https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/recyclers-face-challenging-times

 

As strange as this sounds, the pandemic was good for plastics recyclers. But reclaimers now face challenging conditions amid lower pricing and higher costs.

Gobi Saha has seen the highs and the lows of the recycled resin market over and over again in his 31 years of owning Kal-Polymers Inc., which has reprocessing operations in Flowery Branch, Ga., near Atlanta, and Mississauga, Ontario, near Toronto.

“Pandemic time, the business was booming. We couldn’t keep up with supply [demands]. All of our lines were sold out,” he said. Fueled by the increased use of packaged goods during the pandemic, plastics flowed through Kal-Polymer processing lines at such a rate that the company was turning down business.

But that was then, and this is now…

 

 

Plastics Recycling World Magazine

 

Link to January/February 2023 Issue: 

https://content.yudu.com/web/1rl19/0A42x3p/PRWJanFeb23/html/index.html?refUrl=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.plasticsrecyclingworld.com%252F

  

Current Trending Topics:

 

Ambitious New EU Rules for Packaging and Packaging Waste

The EU’s revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation will place more pressure on the plastics packaging and recycling sectors. Get the details…

  

Polystyrene Recycling Gains Traction

Collaboration among materials and technology companies had led to a string of mechanical and chemical recycling projects for polystyrene and other styrenic polymers.

 

Recycling Packaging Films Need Flexible Approach

To meet the technical challenges of recycling film-based packaging waste, an innovative and flexible approach is needed. A lot of work is going on in plastics recycling to create the technological basis for a circular economy in flexible packaging.

 

Pelletiser Innovations Target Quality Gains

The latest pelletiser introductions are engineered for better and more efficient performance with simplified maintenance.

  

 

Upcoming Events:

  

Plastics Recycling World Expo Europe

Essen Germany

June 14 – 15, 2023

For More Info and To Book a Booth:  https://eu.plasticsrecyclingworldexpo.com/exhibit/become-an-exhibitor?utm_source=PRWMag&utm_medium=ExpromAd&utm_campaign=220221_E080_PA_BYS_Exhib_UK_Prospect_Exhibitors_PRW_mag

 

 

Executive Summit

October 2023

Details Coming Soon