Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
December 22, 2008 01:00 AM

Calif. green initiative may impact nation

Mike Verespej
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    If the California Green Chemistry Initiative recommendations, which have the support of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, become reality, they will change the way manufacturers do business in that state and likely across the U.S.

    The reason? The suggestions, unveiled Dec. 16 after an 18-month study, call for:

    * Full disclosure of chemical ingredients in products.

    * Requiring companies that sell products in California to disclose the environmental footprint of products from cradle to grave.

    * Giving the state the authority to require companies to do an analysis of alternative materials that can be used for a product.

    * Changing the enforcement approach of the state from managing waste to working with manufacturers at the design level to develop green products.

    * An online product ingredient network to disclose chemical ingredients in products, while protecting trade secrets.

    ``We have drafted legislation to implement part of our recommendations, while others can be done through executive order,'' said Maureen Gorsen, director of the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, during a teleconference to discuss the recommendations.

    ``We will have the authority to ban the sales of products in California,'' Gorsen said. ``We will require manufacturers to tell us what is in their products and what were the other alternatives they could used that would be safer. We will require companies to find safer, greener alternatives at the design and manufacturing stages.

    ``I don't know of any other government that has that authority,'' Gorsen said. ``The federal government has not required ingredients disclosure for all products. Now, for the first time, we will know what is in products — and not just those made in California, but everything sold in California.''

    The report from the Green Chemistry Initiative task force said that 644 million pounds of chemicals are sold daily in California. ``With approximately 100,000 different known toxic chemicals used in production today, a comprehensive approach is needed to reduce or eliminate the use of these chemicals,'' said the report.

    Gorsen said the state intends to shift its enforcement approach from managing waste to design, manufacturing and distribution, and require companies to evaluate their entire ``environmental footprint'' before they make and sell a product. Linda Adams, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, agreed.

    ``Rather than managing wastes at the end of a product's lifecycle, Green Chemistry shifts our focus to designing chemicals, processes and goods that have little or no adverse effects during the manufacturing, use and disposal of a product,'' she said.

    The approach contrasts sharply to that of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals program in Europe, which requires manufacturers and importers to provide tests and information that show they have identified and evaluated the health risks of the substances they manufacture and market.

    ``This is looking at what is better, what is safer and how do we invent that safer and healthier material through research and development and technology innovation'' instead of controlling exposure to chemicals and managing toxic waste, Gorsen said. ``The plan is a move away from traditional risk assessment. We want to create a system that accelerates our move to safer choices, rather than argue and equivocate about how bad is bad.''

    Richard Denison, a member of the Green Chemistry Initiative's science advisory panel, said the report contains many of the key building blocks ``that can move us to the kind of fundamental reform we need in how we design, make, use and manage chemicals across their lifecycles.'' Denison is also a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.

    Schwarzenegger applauded the recommendations in a statement released to the press.

    ``These recommendations usher in a new era of how we look at household products — from our children's toys to the plastic we use to make shampoo bottles to the varnish on our wood furniture,'' Schwarzenegger said.

    The Green Chemistry Initiative was put in place by Schwarzenegger to develop a science-based approach to chemicals in products rather letting policy develop piecemeal through the Legislature. California previously had banned the use of phthalates in toys and child-care items intended for children under 3. That ban goes into effect Jan. 1.

    The initiative was given further impetus when the California Legislature passed two green chemistry bills in September that require the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to develop a process to evaluate and regulate chemicals. That action was applauded the chemical industry because it takes the decisions on chemicals out of the hands of legislators and puts it into the hands of scientists.

    The bills gave DTSC the authority to impose labeling and information requirements, manage what happens to a product at the end of its useful life and fund green chemistry initiatives. The bills also allow DTSC to ban, restrict the use of, control access to or limit exposure to chemicals.

    When evaluating chemicals, DTSC will be required to prepare a lifecycle evaluation for review by the Environmental Policy Council. The evaluations, at the minimum, must address the impact of the chemicals on worker safety, public health, the environment, air pollution, surface-water contamination and disposal.

    They also gave the state's environmental policy control new power, created a science advisory panel to advise the council and required the state to develop and maintain an online clearinghouse to give the public access to information on the toxicity of chemicals, and to establish a process by Jan. 1, 2011, to identify and prioritize chemicals that might be of concern.

    Gorsen said the chemicals database will allow scientists and consumers to post and edit information about toxic chemicals.

    The recommendations in the Green Chemistry Initiative also call for:

    * Incentive programs to assist California businesses to adopt green chemistry and engineering practices.

    * Establishment of green chemistry technology centers.

    * Expansion of state pollution prevention and product stewardship programs.

    * The addition of green chemistry to public school curriculums.

    * Green chemistry workforce education and training.

    * Development of green metrics and tools.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Polymer Points Live
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Report says plastics have positive role in climate fight
    2
    Stellantis rescinds ‘burdensome' contract terms for suppliers
    3
    SK Capital buys additives maker Valtris Specialty
    4
    ExxonMobil set to bring on new olefinic elastomer capacity
    5
    Viking Plastics invests $3 million in eight new injection molding machines
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified