MOST-READ STORIES
MOST E-MAILED STORIES

Mailbag

How to submit a Letter

This memo is intended to respond to the unfounded concerns of those who challenge the reported performance of oxo-biodegradable polyolefins.
Casey’s Securities and Exchange Commission filing boldly proclaims, without the use of supporting documentation or footnotes, “It is believed that oxo-degradables do not actually biodegrade, but break down into tiny toxic pieces of plastic mixing into soil and waterways.” Casey’s so-called “beliefs” ... have been proven false time and again.
After 17 years at the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., where I watched the plastics industry gradually surrender to the politics of irrational and uninformed chemistry, I could not agree more with Allan Griff’s Jan. 22 letter expressing the frustration of so many of us and calling for a more vigorous industry response.
We should commend Toyota for taking decisive action. By suspending production and voluntarily recalling over 2.3 million vehicles, Toyota demonstrated the depth of its commitment to safety. Toyota’s transparency and solid communication to the public and their supply base is refreshing.
I disagree with you about bag bans/fees. While many individuals care about the environment and are willing to bring their own reusable bags, it appears that far more prefer the perceived convenience of plastic bags and the abdication of personal responsibility that those bags represent.
Obama is seriously trying to “prompt banks to open credit lines.” As if.
There was one glaring omission in the Frank Esposito article regarding mergers and acquisitions [“M&A upside: private equity, packaging & medical deals,” Jan. 25, Page 1], which is the role of the Chinese and how they will affect the future of the North American plastics industry.
 We need a psychologist or the equivalent talking about why people are so quick to bash plastics, perhaps as part of a general fear of “chemicals” and the machinations of chemical companies — sisters to banks and insurance companies in this respect. Until you deal with such issues and get the messages out loud, you are pussyfooting around the real problems and wasting your members’ funds.
I have read your editorials about NPE and Chicago. It is about time someone spoke out about the ridiculous costs associated with McCormick Place. The costs continue to rise with little to no opportunity to do anything about it.
Reader takes on “The Haggler” column in the New York Times.
The choice of where to hold NPE2012 should not be thought of as Chicago vs. Florida, but as “Where is the center of the lower 48 states and their nearby cities?”
A partial solution to the problem of plastic bags and other plastic products floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is to put a recycling charge/refund on these products that is redeemable — much like the system that is currently in place [in some states] for items such as soda cans and plastic water bottles.
It certainly looks as though those groups doing battle with PVC are relentless and very likely misguided. Vinyl’s reputation, as well as the reputations of other polymer, is being maligned — all because dioxins are generated through combustion (a fact with considerable scientific discord on each side). The thinking is that all vinyl should be ranked with a failing grade.
My colleagues and I agree that simply stating that a plastic is made from a renewable material does not go far enough.
My son is a good student, but if he ever got an “F” on a report card, his mother and I would talk it over with him and his teacher. We would determine what caused the grade and work on improving it. That’s not how it works with Clean Production Action. The group gave PVC an “F” on its “Scorecard” and indicated that’s as good a grade as it will ever get because PVC combustion forms dioxins.

Use the Search box at the top of the page
to search our story archives dating back to 1994.

SITE INDEX
Home: PN.com | Contact editorial | Contact advertising | Century of Plastics | NPE 2009 | About us
Resin Pricing: All resins | Commodity TPs | High-temp TPs | ETPs | Thermosets | Recycled plastics | LME North America | LME Asia | LME Europe | LME global contracts
Rankings/Lists: All | Injection molders | Blow molders | Film & sheet | Thermoformers | Pipe/profile/tubing | Rotomolders | Mold/toolmakers | Executive pay | Recyclers | Plastic lumber | Compounders | Associations
More News From Crain
Automotive News
BtoB
European Rubber Journal
Rubber & Plastics News
Urethanes Technology International
Waste & Recycling News
Workforce Management
List of all Crain publications
End Markets: Automotive | Packaging | Construction | Medical | Consumer products | Sustainability | Public Policy
Processor News: Injection molding | Blow molding | Film & sheet | Pipe/profile/tubing | Rotomolding | Thermoforming | Recycling
Supplier News: Machinery | Materials | Molds/tooling | Product news | Design
Opinion: The Plastics Blog | The China Blog | Viewpoint | Perspective | Mailbag
FYI Charts: Current FYI | Automotive | Packaging | Machinery | Materials | Molds/tooling | Recycling | Processors | Miscellaneous
Directory: Online directory | Plastics processors | Primary equipment suppliers | Auxiliary equipment | Materials suppliers | Plastics industry services
Classifieds: View Classifieds ads | Place a Classified ad
Multimedia: Video | Audio clips | Slide shows
Our Events: Executive Forum 2010 | Medical Devices 2010 | PRW/EPN | Encounters
Industry Events
Awards: Processor of the Year
Advertising: In Print | Classified | Online
Subscribe: Print | Online | E-mail products
Reprints
List Rental: Print | Online
Resin Selector

Entire contents copyright 2010 by Crain Communications Inc.
All rights reserved. | Terms & Conditions | Plastics News Business Directory | Privacy policy | Technical Information
For information about this web site contact webmaster@plasticsnews.com