Kickstart: D'oh!

E6PR, the company that makes compostable and degradeable six-pack rings to replace typical plastic rings, already is used worldwide by craft brewers and major players such as Guinness and Corona, is now pitching its products to a fictional beer: Duff.

That's right. Homer Simpson's favorite beverage on "The Simpsons," marketed by the fictional Duff Man (Catch phrase: "Oh, yeah!") is the subject of a marketing campaign by E6PR.

The company, which says its plastic ring replacement will compost if disposed of in a composting facility, or degrade even if it's tossed out into the world at large, has posted billboards, bus signs, videos and print advertisements in Simpsons' creator Matt Groening's hometown of Springfield, Ore., both to congratulate him on the show's 30th anniversary and propose its product for Duff six packs.

"So here is our humble proposal: we want to offer you the rights to the animated version of our rings, to be used free of charge forever and ever by the most famous beer from Springfield as our collective way to say 'eat my shorts' to the plastic rings."

Back when Paul Caprio announced in June that he was stepping down as president of Krauss-Maffei Corp., much of the staff of Plastics News weighed in on where they expected him to turn up next.

A trade group? A private equity-backed acquisition fund? An Asian firm looking to set up in the U.S.?

For what it's worth, we were all wrong. (Don't expect us to quit our jobs and take on day trading anytime soon.)

Instead, Caprio — a 25-year veteran of KM — signed on at the start of 2020 to become president of Engel Machinery Inc., the U.S. base of Engel Holdings GmbH. Bill Bregar has more.

Assistant Managing Editor Steve Toloken and Senior Reporter Bill Bregar have some big thoughts on the big issues facing the plastics industry.

Considering the bans on bags, straws, takeout EPS and other items across the U.S. — and an increasing focus on climate and sustainability issues worldwide both see 2020 as a chance for the plastics industry to get proactive.

In his blog, Steve sees opportunities to influence investments in recycling infrastructure.

"I think the industry as a whole, including other plastics trade groups, should consider getting behind national versions of ... a material-neutral plan that puts small fees on single-use packaging ... to provide a steady stream of money to support upgrades in waste collection and recycling."

While Bill says it's time to rethink how we judge a community's success: "Heavy Metal says it's time to move beyond Gross Domestic Product as the only way to measure economic success."