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This week Plastics News publishes our annual ranking of the top 100 North American injection molders. Let's take a look at some of the numbers and trends from our respondents:The top 100 represent over $29 billion in sales. Some 92 percent of the companies reported higher sales this year, even without mergers or acquisitions. Unlike years past, resin pricing pass-thorough was not the primary reason for the increase. Nylon and polypropylene resin prices rose just over 8 percent last year, but high density polyethylene, ABS and polycarbonate all averaged under 1 percent in change.It was a good year to be an automotive supplier, with North American production numbers trending up 17 percent for our top 100 molders that list the auto market as a major sector. That's way over the 2011 average of 11 percent sales growth.

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A group called the Plastic Pollution Coalition is wrapping up its Think Beyond Plastic conference in Berkeley, Calif. today. The event was hosted by actor and activist Ed Begley Jr.The event included a contest for entrepreneurs with products , services, materials and infrastructure solutions "that result in a measurable reduction in plastic pollution."The winners of the Most Innovative Business award were D-Grade Clothing, a United Arab Emirates-based designer and producer of clothing collections from post-consumer plastic bottles; and Pulp Works, a U.S. compan that makes alternative packaging from pulp. Each received a $10,000 cash prize, plus $5,000 in donated legal service.

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Until two days ago, I'd never seen the term "plasticarian." Suddenly it's popping up regularly in my news searches.So what in the world is a "plasticarian"?The truth is, we've been writing about plasticarians for several years, but we just haven't used that term before. A plasticarian is a person who pursues a lifestyle that tries to minimize -- if not eliminate -- the use of plastics.The best known plasticarian is probably Beth Terry, a California-based activist and author who has a blog -- "My Plastic-Free Life" -- and wrote Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.

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Look out, plastics industry. There's a movement afoot to clean up the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, and the target is close to your heart.Plastic beads have been a fixture in Mardi Gras parades for years. New Orleans krewes toss the cheap, colorful trinkets to the appreciative crowds.But in this age of sustainability, it looks like the tradition is nearing an end.A few years ago I started to see stories about recycling the beads. In 2008, I even wrote a blog post on the topic, "After Mardi Gras, don't toss the beads."Now some of the krewes are talking about doing away with the beads altogether.

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With all the hype about 3D printing — remember the gun story? — let's enjoy some amusing messes, courtesy of Gizmodo.com.

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Here's an adorable application for plastics that I never would have thought up myself.The A.C. Camargo Cancer Center in São Paul, Brazil, is using Super Friends Hall of Justice cartoons and logos to help children who are undergoing chemotherapy have a positive attitude about their treatment.Advertising agency JWT Brazil worked with Warner Bros. on the idea, to help transform the chemotherapy into a "Superformula."Co-developed with doctors, the covers are easy to sterilize and handle and meet all hospital hygiene standards, according to JWT.Clever idea, and it's getting a lot of attention. (Just try Googling "A.C. Camargo Cancer Center" and you'll see for yourself...)

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Injection molder and mold maker PlastiCert Inc. has received a 2013 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility.Given by Families and Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management, the Sloan award recognizes employers across the country. The Lewiston, Minn.-based company was picked because of its efforts to use flexibility in the workplace as part of a strategy "to achieve business goals and benefit employees by helping them meet their responsibilities on and off the job.""The criteria is quite stringent and selection field is very exclusive", said PlastiCert owner and President Craig Porter, in a news release.

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The honors keep coming for injection molder GW Plastics Inc., which was recently named Vermont's Business of the Year.The Bethel, Vt.-based company won the Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award -- named for a former Vermont governor -- in a contest sponsored by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Business Magazine.The contest is open to companies that have been based in Vermont for at least 10 years (GW was founded in 1955), and the criteria include;Growth in sales or employment,Commitment of company resources for participation in community projects,Encouragement of employees to be involved in community events,Recognition of the importance of the environment to the state as a natural and economic resource.

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Congratulations to injection molder Nicolet Plastics Inc., which received a top award in the annual Manufacturing Leadership 100 (ML100) Awards.The Manufacturing Leadership 100 Awards honor companies and individuals that are shaping the future of global manufacturing.Nicolet, which is based in Mountain, Wis., was named Small Manufacturer of the Year, and it also received an Operational Excellence Award.A

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Plastics News has published our annual ranking of North American recyclers in today's print issue, so let's take the opportunity to look at the number behind the ranking.In print, we rank the top 25 companies, but online we've got data for 226 companies.That's three less than last year.178 of the companies reprocessed a total of 8,873.64 million pounds of plastic in 2012, for an average per company of 49.85 million pounds.Last year, 165 of the companies reprocessed a total of 7,842.58 million pounds of plastic, for an average of 47.53 million pounds.Three companies moved into the top 25 this year:Green Line Polymers of Waterloo, Iowa, moved up 32 spots to No. 9.

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