By Bob Lebeaux, President, The Plastics Group of America
May 1, 2012
Concord, MA has passed a ban on single use PET bottles that are 1 liter in size or smaller. The ban will go into effect 1/1/13. This is the nation’s first ban on PET bottles. The ban still needs to be reviewed by the state attorney general’s office, but assuming they up hold the law, will this lead to similar laws in other cities?
About 7 or 8 years ago, the first bans on single use grocery bags occurred and opened the flood gates for other urban areas to follow suit, leading to long and expensive legal and PR battles for the bag industry. Will this lead to a similar battle for the PET bottle industry?
By Bob Lebeaux, President, The Plastics Group of America
February 20, 2012
Recently, the proposal of a statewide ban on single use bags in the state of Washington died in committee. Sounds like good news, but even when the plastic bag industry wins a battle like this, they seem to be losing the war.
There have been reports that the recycling centers in the state, which I believe are the key to improving recycling/recovery rates of the bags and improving their reputation among environmentally sensitive citizens, are also in favor of banning the bags. The reason the recycling centers favor the ban is that thin bags clog screens and wrap around conveyors - learning of this was a big surprise to me. I thought the recycling centers would be eager to add the bags to their stream of scrap products. When properly collected and baled, the used grocery bags are a decent commodity. In fact, grocery chains have been collecting them for over a decade and have found a way to break even on their bag recycling programs, in other words, grocery chains have been able to achieve decent results with their recycling programs that are basically side projects for them. So my question is, if they can accomplish this while being focused on food and goods distribution, why are recycling centers (which are designed to reclaim, consolidate, size reduce, market/sell post consumer scrap, etc.) having such a hard time dealing with these bags?
By Bob Lebeaux, President, The Plastics Group of America
February 10, 2012 in Reprocessing
According to a recent article that appeared in Plastics News, nearly a year and a half after the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers encouraged consumers to recycle their bottle caps, the Closure and Container Manufacturers Association has made its support publicly known.
The “Caps On” program is the result of a partnership between the two organizations that aims to make leaving lids and caps on plastic containers the norm.
By Bob Lebeaux, President, The Plastics Group of America
January 9, 2012
On July 1 of this year, Seattle is scheduled to become the third largest city in the United States to ban single-use plastic carryout bags. Last month, the city's 9-member city council voted unanimously to impose the ban. It is the second time the city has attempted to regulate the use of plastic carryout bags. The 20-cent fee Seattle council placed on plastic bags in 2008 was overturned before it went into effect by an August 2009 voter referendum. While we acknowledge that the plastic bag industry does need to improve its image among environmentalists, we believe, as before, that this decision should be once again left up to all voters and be decided by a citywide referendum.
By Bob Lebeaux, President, The Plastics Group of America
December 28, 2011
This is always a special day at TPG - today, staff members celebrate the 3rd Annual "The Wicked Witch is Gone" luncheon. It marks the passing (from our employment ranks) of a less-than-beloved individual whose absence has resulted in measurably improved corporate productivity and overall office happiness. It is a special occasion.
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