One objection to bio-based plastics is that they’re often made from edible agricultural products – not a good long-term plan when we have a growing population of over seven billion people to feed. But this objection hasn’t... find more

A blog posting here a few weeks ago covered three general “themes” of the debate on the use of vinyl/PVC. After the posting, commentators emphasized that a key issue with flexible vinyl compounds has to do with the phthalate-based... find more

Lately there’s been a number of companies announcing that they’ve installed solar-power arrays to supplement their high energy needs. And why not? Their plant roofs and properties often cover several football fields-worth... find more

Getting good quality recyclable material from the public is far from straightforward, given human behavior. Consider the bizarre objects found in collection bins -- or even just the common-but-still-inappropriate items you notice in... find more

Controversy usually accompanies discussions about when, how, or why polyvinyl chloride should or shouldn’t be used in various products, whether it’s packaging, medical products, or children’s toys. The disputes about... find more

Despite yet another report projecting strong future growth rates for bioplastics overall, the plastics industry was rocked last week by news about the dissolution of the alliance between bioresin maker Metabolix Inc. and U.S. agricultural... find more

The word “sustainability” covers a lot of meanings in the plastics arena – and not all of them concern recycling, bioplastics, energy savings, or other “green” technologies that come to mind.   When... find more

Recent discussions about increasing the use of recycled PET (rPET) in packaging inevitably must discuss the greater collection and recovery of PET in thermoforms, such as clamshell packaging. However, both the quality and quantity... find more

This past month’s purchasing frenzy before Christmas no doubt consumed a great many plastic carryout bags. Nonetheless, the concept of banning these kinds of bags seems to be gaining ground, maybe even within the plastics industry... find more

Sporadically in this series of blog updates, I’ll summarize some of the unusual feedstock sources that researchers are transforming into bio-based chemicals, plastics, or fillers for plastics. (Part 1 of this series is here.)   Since... find more

Especially when it comes to being “green,” not all consumers are the same. Some believe very seriously in sustainability and will act on their beliefs by buying green products packaged in recycled or bio-based packaging.... find more

A few weeks go, I commented on the barrier properties of PLA that are limiting its use in bottle packaging. But many new additives are addressing some of PLA’s other issues, such as impact resistance; below is just a sampling... find more

Varying estimates of biodegradable or bio-based plastics growth are often quoted in the industry from various new studies. The rates of future growth are usually estimated to be quite high, though bioplastics will remain a small fraction... find more

Polymers surround us in nature, so it’s no surprise that researchers are looking to transform more biological polymers and organic waste -- rather than food crops -- into bioplastics. Here are just a few examples:   Orange... find more

Industry observers are already aware of the continuing controversy about the effects and effectiveness of biodegradability-enhancing additives for plastics. These additives encourage the microbial growth and breakdown of discarded... find more

Months ago, I asked a PET packaging specialist for comments about the draft manuscript of my recent book on green plastics issues. This helpful reviewer’s comments included one very specific concern: I hadn’t emphasized... find more

Within the past two months, two European industry organizations released reports that overlap on issues about plastics and sustainability: “The impact of plastic packaging on energy consumption and GHG emissions” by the... find more

As more giant packaging users such as Kraft Foods Inc. are taking sustainable packaging seriously, green packaging issues are reportedly even limiting the demand for virgin polymers (as did the recession), according to a European report... find more

Bio-based plastics are being considered seriously in almost every product sector in which plastics are used. But will their higher prices keep them mostly in small niches of products for which consumers are willing to pay a premium... find more

Lately in numerous reports there’s been a flurry of chatter about alternative ways for reclaiming waste plastics. Rather than being recycled directly into new plastics, waste plastics can be converted into other energy-rich materials... find more

Two weeks ago I had a chance to attend and present at the yearly Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, organized by SPE’s Plastics Environmental Division. The level of serious technical discussion... find more

Why follow the SPP blog?   Every day you might see dozens of industry news items related to sustainable plastics and packaging. But how can you make sense of them all? How do they all fit together into useful information for... find more