Wrapping up plastics and Earth Day

April 22 was Earth Day, and as usual we got a flurry of environmentally themed news tips last week from individuals and companies that thought they had an interesting story to share.

We didn't get to all of them, so I'll wrap a few up in today's blog post.

First the Alliance for the Great Lakes sent out information regarding beach cleanups. Given the heavy concentration of plastics companies around the Great Lakes, I thought I'd share the invitation.

Volunteers are needed to clean up and protect local beaches and shorelines by picking up trash and recording their findings, then sharing information about what they find with beach managers and scientists.

Events are planned for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The closest event to our office in Detroit is set for May 1 at Milliken State Park. It's just a few blocks away from our headquarters, along the Detroit River.

Volunteers can register to participate at www.greatlakesadopt.org.

Speaking of marine trash, I thought it was noteworthy that Bertrand Piccard, pilot of the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft that's attempting to fly around the world on solar power, made headlines today for a tweet he sent out over the weekend on plastic in the ocean.

Piccard sent a tweet to Boyan Slat, the founder and CEO of the Ocean Cleanup, as he flew over the Pacific Ocean: "I flew over plastic waste as big as a continent. We must continue to support projects like @BoyanSlat Ocean Cleanup.”

Slat is trying to raise interest in a project that he believes can clean up plastic trash from the ocean.

Most of the attention that the plastics industry pays to Solar Impulse 2 is about the lightweight materials used in the aircraft that make the long-distance solar flight possible. But don't forget that the flight has an eco-minded mission, too: to raise awareness of clean technologies.

Recycling scorecard

Next up on the Earth Day theme, film extruder and recycler Petoskey Plastics of Petoskey, Mich., highlighted a new plastics recycling scorecard that customers can use to quantify the impact that their recycling practices are having on the planet.

Petoskey developed the system with sustainability consultants. The company is measuring and providing documentation on landfill diversion, carbon footprint equivalents, emission offsets, and water savings. The data are based on the level of recycled content supplied within film and bags purchased from Petoskey.

The scorecard is based on a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach to measuring sustainable practices. The Petoskey scorecard is unique in that it calculates pounds of carbon emissions saved in purchasing film with post-consumer recycled content.

In one example that the company provided, a major retail chain saved close to 6 million kilograms of CO2.

For more information, see PetoskeyPlastics.com.

Making an impact with single-stream recycling

Finally, I'll share some information about waste reduction from Orchard Park, N.Y.-based Curbell Plastics Inc., which sent out a release on how its 12 locations across the United States have diverted 137,000 pounds of waste from landfills.

That's up 7 percent from the previous year, and the company is crediting the adoption of single-stream recycling.

In the company's system, all recyclable materials (plastic, glass, paper, metal) are deposited into a single bin. The materials are then sorted at the recycling facility. This is easier for Curbell employees and reduces the amount of space needed for recycling.

The company says the effort saved $17,000 in dumpster collection fees.

"Employees really embraced this effort because they began to understand the benefit when we shared the results with them,” said Mark Shriver, the company's director of safety & environmental affairs.

During the month of April, using Earth Day as a focal point, Curbell hosts educational events with prizes and other activities designed to encourage employee action and increase understanding of sound environmental practices.

Thanks to everyone who sent an Earth Day story this year. I'm sorry we couldn't get to them all, but I'm encouraged by the progress that individuals, and companies, are making for the environment.