Sustainability

Despite bans, demand for retail bags forecast to grow

January 16, 2020

Sustainability, Recycling, Consumer Products

While single-use plastic retail bag usage will continue to decline through 2023, overall U.S. sales of retail bags in value terms is forecast to grow 4.7% per year to $42 billion in 2023.

Plastic Barrier Bottle invented for insulating, reusability qualities

January 16, 2020

Packaging

Sustainability, Recycling, Blow Molding, Consumer Products, Materials

Rick Lingle

Low-cost “bottle within a bottle” that prolongs beverage temperature also qualifies as a recyclable, reusable and refillable container.

Neopac’s customizable SpringTube targets brands, consumers

January 15, 2020

Packaging

Sustainability, Extrusion: Film & Sheet, Materials

PlasticsToday Staff

The new direct-to-print SpringTube’s superior graphics for cosmetics and personal care products also permits individual variable data.

NexTek-Bottle-Scan-Recycling-Fluorescent

New fluorescent tech can light up food packaging recycling rates

January 15, 2020

Packaging

Sustainability, Recycling, Materials

Edward Kosior

Until the development of PRISM technology there hasn’t been an effective way to differentiate between a plastic bleach or milk bottle of the same polymer type.

Engineering plastics power innovation in consumer electronics

January 08, 2020

Materials

Sustainability, Recycling, Consumer Products

Clare Goldsberry

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas provides countless examples of why plastics for electronic applications will be a $115 billion market by 2023.

Chemical recycling of plastics gets a catalytic boost in Australia, China

January 08, 2020

Packaging

Sustainability, Recycling, Materials

PlasticsToday Staff

Licella (Sydney, Australia) and BioLogiQ (Idaho Falls, ID) join forces to accelerate commercialization of Cat-HTR technology in Australia to chemically recycle previously unrecyclable post-consumer plastic.

On recycling: Why is doing the right thing so damn hard?

January 07, 2020

Recycling

Packaging, Sustainability

Eric Larson

A couple of months ago, plastics engineer Eric Larson began monitoring his use of PE film and documenting his effort to recycle as much of it as he could in a series of articles in PlasticsToday. The experience, he confesses, has been a royal pain in the ass.

Are plastic recycling programs rubbish?

January 07, 2020

Recycling

Packaging, Sustainability, Consumer Products

Clare Goldsberry

Once an admirable goal for plastic packaging and single-use plastic products, recycling of late has been called a “garbage” technology, an example of industry “greenwashing” and a “great con.”

Total plastics traceability via blockchain comes to CES

January 06, 2020

Sustainability

Packaging, Automotive and Mobility, Building & Construction, Consumer Products, Extrusion: Film & Sheet, Extrusion: Pipe & Profile, Injection Molding, Materials, Medical

Norbert Sparrow

Circularise PLASTICS, spearheaded by polyamide supplier Domo, materials company Covestro and supply chain transparency startup Circularise, reportedly ensures transparency regarding a material’s origin and its environmental impact.