The Feb. 8 issue of Plastics News includes an editorial against legislative bans and taxes on plastic bags. [I'm the author, the column is headlined "Do you need a bag? Yeah, make it plastic." And, as usual, the cartoon from Rich Williams is brilliant.]

But Plastics News isn't alone in editorializing against bag bans this week. The Gazette Times in Corvallis, Ore., has a column headlined "Trust market to kill plastic bag use."

Sure, that headline doesn't scream "pro-plastic." But the columns have some parallels.

Both criticize legislative efforts to ban or tax plastic bags. The Corvallis column is aimed at a proposal from two Oregon legislators -- Portland Democrat Mark Hass and Central Point Republican Jason Atkinson -- that would ban plastic bags.

Hass told the Oregonian newspaper that plastic bags contribute to litter, are hard to recycle, hurt marine life and are made from fossil fuels. That's all true.

It also is true, however, that the bags can be recycled. (It's also true, for what it's worth, that 85 percent of the plastic bags used in the United States are made in this country, and that some 4,000 Americans are directly employed in their manufacture.)

The best approach here, we believe, is to continue with efforts to persuade consumers to move to reusable bags. We trust that the market will follow consumer preference. We don't need to use a heavy-handed approach such as a ban or a surcharge on the plastic bags. That's a pain for consumers -- and it could potentially hurt retailers, who frankly don't need any additional worry right now.

I like the approach -- encouraging the public to stop being wasteful, without resorting to passing a law to require it. It echoes my column, where I wrote that bag taxes and bans aren't the answer, but I don't object to non-legislative efforts to get people to cut down on bag consumption.

A couple of plastic products are getting media attention today because of their connection with the Super Bowl.

The Facts newspaper in Clute, Texas, has a feature about Dow Chemical Co.'s Primacor resin, used in the face masks for both the Colts and Saints.

The coating being used during an event as global as the Super Bowl, which is seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world, shows how Dow products are applied, but also is fun for employees, Dow spokeswoman Tracie Copeland said.

"Being able to point to something is just fun," Copeland said. "It's nice to be able to say, 'Hey, I make that out in the plants and, because of what we make, we make those guys safer and keep the helmets stronger.'"

Meanwhile, up in New York at the Rochester Business Journal, the attention is on ice cream. More specifically, the Buddy Cone, a polystyrene ice cream packaging "system" from Buddy Cone Systems Inc., which the newspaper reports is being used at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

"We've always known the Buddy System was a super product," President and CEO Robert Sotile told the RBJ. "Now, it's confirmed."

The Super Bowl is all about hype, right? Everything about it -- silly interviews, expensive commercials, huge half-time show -- screams "watch me, watch me."

So it's no surprise that some plastics companies are going to seek a bit of attention for their role in the spectacle.

Watch for more cool plastics-in-sports applications coming soon from the Winter Olympics.

Did you know that the average average straight-time labor cost for contractors at Chicago's McCormick Place is $66.30 an hour, compared with $42.62 in Las Vegas and $26.83 in Orlando, Fla.?

Those numbers come from the Chicago Tribune, reporting today on an analysis of cost differences between major exhibit locales prepared by two major trade show contractors, Freeman and GES Exposition Services.

The Tribune, which has a copy of the report, said the numbers reflect costs charged to the contractors, and include benefits and payroll taxes.

The story, headlined "McCormick Place work rules inflate labor costs, study finds," says the Freeman/GES report also cites examples where union rules at McCormick require more workers to handle tasks than would be needed in Orlando or Las Vegas:

Chicago requires the presence of four non-working union stewards for the duration of the show, including setup and tear-down days. The cost for 12 days, in two halls, is an estimated $50,915. In Las Vegas, only one non-working steward is required, at a cost of $8,183; in Orlando, none is required.

Chicago contracts require a standby labor pool of 10 tradesmen during the event, which can cost at least $40,333 for a four-day show in two halls. Las Vegas and Orlando require standby pools of two, at an estimated cost of $5,455 in Las Vegas and $3,434 in Orlando.

Those are some numbers that will get your attention.

The story quotes John Patronski, executive vice president at GES, saying that while McCormick's union workers have made concessions, "there's still a huge difference between Chicago and other cities."

But Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon didn't back down from his stance that contractors aren't passing along the savings to customers that the unions have already approved.

"Don't you think it's kind of awkward for GES and Freeman, who make their profits on the backs of working men and women, to do an analysis of labor costs at McCormick Place?" he said. "Maybe labor should do one on how much money Freeman and GES made in Chicago."

So the finger-pointing on McCormick costs continues.

When the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. announced that the 2012 and 2015 NPE trade shows will move to Orlando, it predicted that the industry will save $20 million -- $10 million for exhibitors, and another $10 million for attendees.

Many in the plastics industry know Eastman Chemical Co. as a PET resin supplier. But the company may be planning to exit that business, according to a story in the daily paper where the company is headquartered.

The Kingsport, Tenn., Times-News posted a story headlined "Eastman might pull plug on PET business."

The story was generated from an interview that Eastman President and CEO Jim Rogers gave to the newspaper on Feb. 3.

Rogers said PET hasn't made any money for Eastman since 2005. The company has made some major changes in the PET business in recent years -- selling plants around the world, and investing millions in its IntegRex technology at its only remaining PET plant in Columbia, S.C.

Now, he said, it's time for the business to start to perform.

"Our patience is measured in months, not years," Rogers told the newspaper.

"I think the real test is going to come in the second quarter to see just how much our guys have been able to do about demonstrating to the markets that we've got our act together now, and we deserve our fair piece of ... higher-value segments." Rogers said.

"We're going to get through the second quarter and see how we do, and then we'll take a look," he said.

That's about as clear a signal I've seen that a business has a very specific deadline to show improved results.

It's also a pretty clear signal to competitors that this business is on the block.

Eastman isn't alone in looking for a buyer for some major plastics assets. It looks like the resin sector is in for some major restructuring in 2010.

Remember the Plastiki -- the boat made out of old PET bottles that David de Rothschild plans to sail from California to Australia, to raise awareness of marine debris?

The Plastics Blog first discovered the project almost two years ago. Now, finally, the voyage is almost ready to get started.

Carl Nolte of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Rothschild took the 60-foot-long catamaran out for a shakedown cruise on Feb. 3, and the actual voyage should get started next month, weather permitting.

Some interesting snippets from the story: the boat's twin hulls are made of 12,500 PET bottles, which are filled with dry ice.

Nolte says the boat is "no beauty," describing it as looking "like a kid's science project."

Let's hope it's sturdy enough to safely carry its 8-member crew on the long haul to Australia.

"Paper or plastic" has become a cliche, but with retailers trying to cut down on plastic bag usage, consumers should get used to a new phrase at the checkout: "Do you need a bag?"

Getting asked that question doesn't bother me, but it sure set off Carol Midgley, a feature writer and columnist for The Times. She recently wrote a funny column for the London paper headlined "Saving the planet or just toying with us?"

Midgley was buying some figurines at The Disney Store, and the clerk asked if she preferred to pay 5 pence for a carrier bag, £1.50 for a "re-usable" carrier, or skip using a bag entirely.

"Now hold on a minute, matey," she wrote. "I don't mind doing my bit; I know that charging for bags might be the only way to cure humanity's preposterous wastefulness. But I draw the line at being lectured on plastic overuse by a chuffing toy retailer."

She added later: "Being urged to be eco-conscious by any toy shop is like being chided for your caffeine intake by a crystal meth addict."

Delightful stuff. Thanks to Plastics News' correspondent in Mexico City, Steve Downer, for pointing it out today.

Every once in a while I come across something that's blogworthy just to share the photos. That's the case today in a post from the Treehugger.com sustainability Web site, which posted an item today headlined "Amazing House Made Entirely of Plastic Bottles from Argentina."

The walls of the home are made from 1,200 PET bottles, and its roof is made of more than 1,300 Tetra Pack cartons. It also has 140 compact disk cases in its doors and windows, 120 bottles in its couches, and another 200 bottles in a bed.

There's also a pretty cute children's play-house, also made of PET bottles.

The owner, Alfredo Santa Cruz, said he made the buildings to show the value of materials we throw away.

"Domestic waste can be transformed into useful stuff. We developed our own technique, which allows people to build a house that's perfectly functional at a very low cost and with their own hands. This is not just a project, but a reality," he said.

Injection molder SRG Global Inc. is ready for its close-up.

The company will be featured on cable television's History Channel on Thursday as part of its "Modern Marvels" series in an episode about chrome. SRG's 400,000-square-foot plant in Morehead, Ky., will demonstrate the electroplating process for plastic parts that gives them a chrome look.

SRG, the Warren, Mich.-based plastic subsidiary of Guardian Industries Corp., specializes in plastics plating.

The History Channel episode will also show off chrome on trucks, classic cars and motorcycles and the work of a Colorado artist who creates chrome sculptures from old car bumpers.

With Avatar breaking box-office records, USA Today's Elizabeth Weise wondered what's happening to all the 3-D glasses worn by moviegoers.

According to her calculations, about 75 percent of people who've seen Avatar saw the 3-D version, which works out to 42.1 million pairs of glasses worn so far -- and another 935,834 every day.

But there's no sustainability problem here. All four of the companies providing glasses have recycling programs in place.

Actually, in this case, reuse is a more precise term than recycle. The glasses suppliers say their products can be collected, washed and reused hundreds of times.

One supplier said they have glasses "that have been used and washed thousands of times without degradation ... There's no need to throw them away. They're very environmentally friendly."

President Obama, in his State of the Union address, proposed a new tax credit for small business that hire workers or raise the wages of current employees.

The proposal is part of his plan to help the economy recover and boost employment. Other pieces of the puzzle include proposals to:

• Use $30 billion repaid by Wall Street banks to help community banks lend money to small businesses,
• Eliminate capital gains taxes on small-business investment,
• Offer tax incentives for all businesses to invest in new plants and equipment.
• Extend tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the U.S.

I'm interested in how owners and managers at plastics companies feel about the proposals. Based on the non-scientific poll on the Plastics News home page this week, it looks like many in the industry are still pretty pessimistic about the economy.

Our question this week is "Do you think this is the year for an economic recovery?" As of Thursday afternoon, 74 percent think the recovery will come in 2011 or later, and only 23 percent say they see signs of recovery this year.

Is Obama's plan the right one to get the economy back on track?

Meanwhile, The Post Standard in Syracuse, N.Y., asked Roland Beck, president and CEO of injection molder Tessy Plastics Corp., about Obama's plan.

Beck told the newspaper that he thought the idea of giving companies tax incentives to pay workers more was "a little odd."

Beck said he prefers to tie workers' pay to company profits, through a profit-sharing plan, rather than tying them to tax incentives.

Beck added that Tessy would take advantage of any federal tax incentives available to companies that add workers or increase salaries, adding the caveat: "Because there are no details it's hard to get excited."