Week of 02/03 to 02/07: Chinese counterfeit material recall and top 10 articles

So here at PlasticsToday we're gearing up for the PLASTEC West event that is about to take place (Feb. 11-13 in Anaheim, CA). If you're attending the event, we're having a meet-and-greet for our Senior Editor Norbert Sparrow. Be sure to drop by the UBM Canon Lounge Booth 3395 on Wednesday 2/12 between 3-4 and meet Norbert and hang out with other members of the PlasticsToday crew.  

And on to reviewing the week that was.

An iconic relationship. That is one description of the luxury car Ashton Martin's association with the fictional British secret service agent, James Bond. In fact, the Aston Martin DB5 was featured in its latest film,"Skyfall."

Well, if Bond were real, he might be 'shaken' with anger with the news that Aston Martin has been forced into a recall of the majority of sports cars it has built since late 2007 after finding a Chinese part supplier was using counterfeit plastic material in a part supplied to the luxury sports carmaker.

Automotive Editor Stephen Moore wrote a news article about the recall saying that the automaker discovered that Tier III supplier Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool, a Chinese subcontractor that molds the affected accelerator pedal arms, was using counterfeit plastic material supplied by Synthetic Plastic Raw Material of Dongguan, according to documents filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Tier III supplier had been appointed by Hong Kong-based Fast Forward Tooling to mold the part.

"The recall was triggered by a report from a dealer in Connecticut early December that a replacement pedal arm that was being fitted broke during the installation process," Stephen wrote. "Aston Martin suspended the shipping of potentially suspect pedals and carried out tests that were unable to replicate the results of the dealer. But it was able to determine that the pedals were molded from non-conforming counterfeit material."

Senior Editor Clare Goldsberry wrote a blog article on the subject and took a closer look at counterfeit plastic materials.

"I've been writing about this for nearly 20 years, and yet companies are still being forced to learn these very expensive lessons for themselves," she wrote. "I suppose it's the old belief of 'it happens to others but it won't happen to me.' Yeah, sure. They all say that. Not only is it expensive in terms of the cost to replace these parts or products, but it's expensive in terms of the company's reputation."

Oftentimes packaging sustainability refers to recycling, biomaterials and other items along that line. However, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association issued an interesting article that looked at packaging sustainability from a different angle.

"But looking only at recycling when reviewing the sustainability of packaging is sort of like choosing a spouse based solely on good looks - there's lots more to consider," the CPIA stated. In fact, there actually are standards for measuring environmental sustainability that look at impacts across the entire "life cycle" of packaging. This includes all the material and energy inputs and outputs of the packaging. We need to look at energy used in manufacturing, water use, energy used in transportation, greenhouse gas and other emissions, impacts of solid waste disposal, and so on, the CPIA stated."

The article went on to discuss how packaging's role in reducing food waste is a very strong sustainability story.

With all the talk of the booming 3D-printing market, with some riding the wave while others questioning its long-term value, Norbert's latest article shows how technology has the potential to transform lives. 

"A hospital in the war-torn Nuba mountains region of southern Sudan is probably the last place you would expect to find a 3D-printing lab for prosthetic devices and an associated training facility," he wrote. "There is little infrastructure, no running water, and electricity is a luxury. But thanks to the Not Impossible foundation based in Venice, CA, the lab is up and running, and has already transformed the life of 16-year-old Daniel, whose arms were blown off when he was 14. He received a 3D-printed prosthetic arm in November 2013, and was able to feed himself for the first time in two years."

European Editor Karen Laird covered a unique way in which bioplastics is helping hospitals be cleaner and greener. She wrote about how the Dutch company Pharmafilter devised a system that makes use of the hospital's internal sewage system to dispose of all waste - organic, biohazardous, sharps, plastic, everything. The company developed shredders, called 'Tontos,' which they have installed at strategic sites around the hospital, into which all waste is deposited.

"Next to developing a closed-loop system that, says Pharmafilter, offers a cleaner and cost-efficient hospital waste disposal solution, the company is also actively promoting the use of biopolymers in an area in which these are not yet common. In fact, these are an important key to the functioning of the system," she wrote.

Top 10 most-clicked PlasticsToday articles 02/03-02/07

1.   Aston Martin in massive recall: Chinese counterfeit DuPont polyamide to blame

2.   Molded, hinged plastic plates debut in baseball caps

3.   Is Chrysler still an American car company?

4.   Bans on plastic bags cost cities money

5.   Moldmaker Eurostampi Srl launches proprietary pasta making machine

6.   New packaging allows consumers to separate plastic from carton

7.   Ultrasonic molding cuts medical plastics waste 30-60%

8.   U.S. and Chinese manufacturing (s)tumbled in January

9.   3D printing makes mark at the Sochi Paralympics

10.  Reshoring: Let's stick to the facts please