Plasticity Speaker Profile: President José María Figueres
By Robert Rath
Published on 09 June 2014
Plasticity is proud to announce that the former president of Costa Rica, José María Figueres, will be a keynote speaker at the third annual Plasticity Forum.
Hong Kong Company Makes Toys out of Bioplastics
Steve Toloken
Published on 03 June 2014
See information on bioplastic toys at min 1:30 on the video clip.
EFSA gives recycled PET a thumbs up
Summary by Robert Rath
Published on 01 June 2014
Phoenix Technologies has received approval from the EFSA for its recycled PET technology to be used in food packaging.
California Starting the Process to Ban Plastic Microbeads from Store Shelves
Published on 31 May 2014
Microbeads have only become popular in the cosmetics market in the last decade, as a gentle exfoliating alternative to items such as ground walnut shells, which can have sharp edges that tear sensitive skin or pose an allergy risk to some consumers. But existing water treatment facilities are not designed to capture such small pieces of debris and the 0.3mm microbeads literally slip through the cracks and into the watershed.
Plastic Pollution Solutions
Published on 29 May 2014
For too long, topics about trash have been on the back burner. Litter is an eyesore, and when countries can “sweep it away,” they do. having traveled to many countries, it is apparent that not everyone has good waste management infrastructure, much less enough recycling capacity. The world has yet to scale some of the ground-breaking plastic innovations currently available, harnessing the resource value that plastic has. We believe the discussion at Plasticity can help change our ways of thinking of plastic, and waste. Plastic pollution is a global issue, but needs to be resolved at the local level.
Plastic - If You Can Measure It, You Can Manage It
Published on 29 May 2014
Plastic has many great uses, due to its light weight, flexibility in molding, and durability – yet these are also its downfalls, particularly because it is difficult to create economies of scale for the many varieties of plastic that exist. In the US alone, estimates are that over US$8bn per year is ‘left on the table’ in the form of packaging waste alone, which does not get recycled.
Roughly 85% of the plastic used in products and packaging is not recycled, and this is a large, global opportunity – an opportunity for cleaning our country sides and waterways, while creating jobs and innovation.
VinylPlus raises the bar by registering over 440,000 tonnes of recycled PVC in Europe in 2013
Summary by Billy Chan
Published on 26 May 2014
VinyPlus successfully met its PVC recycling target in Europe in 2013
IBM Discovers New Materials to ‘Transform Manufacturing’
Summary by Robert Rath
Published on 20 May 2014
IBM scientists have discovered the first new class of polymer in decades – it’s strong, lightweight, self-healing, can be recycled down to its base materials and may change manufacturing.
June forum addresses environmental impacts of plastic
Summary by Robert Rath
Published on 18 May 2014
Recycling Today looks at the upcoming Plasticity Forum, which draws in representatives from business, education, government and investment in an effort to reduce plastics’ environmental impact while increasing profits.
Washing-up Liquid Bottle Made from Ocean Plastic Aims to Clean up Seas
Rebecca Smithers, The Guardian
Published on 17 May 2014
Ecover, a Belgian company, has been working with manufacturer Logoplaste to combine plastic trawled from the sea with a plastic made from sugarcane (which it calls Plant-astic) and recycled plastic, in what it is hailing as a world-first for packaging.
