Kickstart: A delayed Hall of Fame ceremony is nearly here

It's been a very long time since the Plastics Hall of Fame announced its list of honorees for 2021.

When the 10 new members were named in December 2020, everyone still expected NPE to happen in May 2021, with an induction ceremony set for NPE show week.

But when the Plastics Industry Association was forced to cancel because of COVID-19, the Hall of Fame ceremony was in limbo. After a few attempts to host it later in 2021, the ceremony is finally set to take place May 2 in Chicago.

As a reminder, the new Hall of Fame members are Yoshiharu Inaba, Mayumi Kotani, Salvatore Monte, Peter Neumann, Donald Paulson, Joseph Prischak, Ulrich Reifenhauser, Wylie Royce, Suresh Shah and Vince Witherup.

You can find stories and videos of the new members linked in this 2021 Viewpoint post.

Next week will also mark the first in-person meeting of the Plastics Industry Association since the start of COVID, as well as a first chance to meet the new association CEO, Matt Seaholm.

Seaholm was named CEO on April 26, replacing Tony Radoszewski, who was forced out in March after two years. Seaholm is an internal hire for the association, but because he joined the trade group in April 2020 as vice president of government affairs, he hasn't had many in-person interactions with leaders.

He's certainly been deeply exposed to plastics issues, however. Prior to joining the association as its top lobbyist, Seaholm worked with the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance.

If you want to get an idea of his take on plastics and policy, listen to the What Keeps You Up at Night podcast (free on plasticsnews.com or you can find it on regular podcast streaming services) featuring Seaholm from August 2020. It was recorded just hours after the U.S. Plastics Pact came out with its list of "problematic packaging," but Seaholm was careful to note that most groups were coming to the issue with open minds, trying to find the best way to reduce plastic waste.

"I don't think there's anybody that really objects to what they're trying to achieve," he said. "The question remains how exactly do you get there."

Toymaker Mattel Inc. has released a new set of goals aimed at cutting its use of plastic in packaging by 25 percent by 2030.

The goal was announced April 27 as Mattel released its 2021 Citizenship Report, focused on goals related to sustainability and inclusion.

That doesn't mean that Barbie will suddenly be made with entirely new materials, but it will, for instance, eliminate a plastic film "window" used for the doll's packaging.

"With its new packaging goal, Mattel is focused on reducing plastic materials from product packaging, including polybags, window sheets and blister packs, as part of its packaging strategy and reduction approach," the company said.