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January 04, 2021 08:17 AM

COVID-19 stories dominate 2020 headlines

Don Loepp
Editor
Plastics News Editor
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    University of Michigan Medicine
    A health care worker prepares COVID-19 vaccines for a clinic at the University of Michigan.

    COVID-19 dominated the global 2020 news cycle, and that included the headlines on PlasticsNews.com.

    Each year, I write a blog post listing our most popular stories, measured by our web traffic. In most years, nearly all of the top stories fit into four categories: M&A news, resin pricing changes, big scoops and safety-related stories.

    This year, the list is dominated by COVID-related news.

    With apologizes to David Letterman ... from the home office in Belleville, Mich., here are the Plastics News Top 10 stories of 2020:

    No 10: Homeland Security says chemicals, single-use plastics 'critical infrastructure,' March 24.

    Plastics groups welcomed a March 19 Department of Homeland Security memo that specifically mentioned chemicals and single-use plastic products used in food and medical packaging, as being critical industries that need to remain open for the coronavirus pandemic.

    No. 9: Nypro renamed Jabil Healthcare, to invest $18.5M in NC, Feb. 3.

    After 31 years of generating headlines on the pages of Plastics News, this may have been the last time that we'll mention the name Nypro.

    Nypro was founded in 1955 and was acquired by Jabil Inc. in 2013 by Jabil.

    No. 8: Plastics industry COVID-affected events tracker, first posted March 13 and updated frequently.

    Our event tracker kept track of all of the trade shows, conferences and open houses that were canceled, postponed or switched to virtual events because of COVID-19. We're still updating this page.

    No. 7: Obituary: Bill Bregar, PN senior reporter, April 7.

    The shocking news of the death of a plastics industry star reporter at age 58.

    No. 6: Maine halts plastic bag ban as part of plan to mitigate coronavirus spread, March 18.

    There was huge reader interest in this topic, including from people who are not typical Plastics News readers. The question from outside the industry: was the plastics industry taking advantage of the pandemic to roll back bans on single-use plastics?

    No. 5: Plastics industry adapts to business during COVID-19, first posted March 13 and updated frequently.

    Coronavirus-related news was happening so fast that week that we posted this story and updated it every day with the latest developments. All of our reporters and editors contributed.

    No. 4: PVC plumbing company Genova faces financial crunch, Jan. 31.

    Pre-pandemic, this was more like a typical plastics news scoop, piecing together what was happening at PVC plumbing products company that was quietly closing down plants across the country.

    No. 3: Industry sectors push Washington to name them 'essential' as COVID-19 curtails business, March 19.

    As state governments moved to limit business activity to slow transmission of the coronavirus, industry associations urged Washington to designate plastics, chemicals, recycling and packaging companies as critical sectors that need to be kept open.

    No. 2: Dow leaves Plastics Industry Association, June 26.

    Midland, Mich.-based Dow Inc. did not say why it the Plastics Industry Association, but the departure came shortly after several large consumer product makers, including Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., left the association citing pressure from environmental groups over plastics waste issues.
    No. 1: Dow to idle PE resin plants in Americas,
    April 30.

    Early in the pandemic, as demand slumped because so much of the economy shut down, materials giant Dow Inc. announced it would three polyethylene resin plants and two elastomer plants in the Americas for at least one month.

    Demand picked up pretty quickly thanks to heavy demand for food and household cleaner packaging, personal protection equipment and medical products, and Dow reopened the PE plants in July.

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