CORONADO, CALIF. — A plastics industry education program has obtained $24,000 in a two-year period but needs another $36,000 to equip and begin operating its newly acquired trailer at schools, county and state fairs, and environmental conferences. Attendees at the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.'s Western Region gathering inspected the 20-foot-long demonstration trailer and its almost-empty innards. Plastics educator Carolyn Knapp used the trailer for two instructional sessions about plastics processing and recycling.
The trailer needs laboratory-size equipment to process plastic materials.
"Last year I had a cardboard trailer [at the SPI West meeting], and this year I have a real trailer," said Tessy Price, who heads the plastics and composites manufacturing technology program at Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif.
Price envisions bolted-down gear that will injection mold, extrude or thermoform polymers into momentos.
Equipment will operate behind viewing windows. An audiovisual tent with benches will reinforce the educational experience.
The American Plastics Council of Arlington, Va., the Western Plastics Pioneers, SPI's Western Region in Irvine, Calif., and Cerritos College have contributed funds.
