Kickstart: Don't let go

Balloons are at the center of new legislation in Hawaii designed to keep plastics out of waterways where they could harm wildlife.

The state Legislature has sent a bill to Gov. David Ige that would ban the intentional releasing of balloons outdoors and levy a $500 fine for violations. That doesn't mean that the state would slap a fine on your 5-year-old for accidentally letting go of their balloon, since it's aimed at "intentional" releases. The bill also allows for balloons to be released in an indoor area and exempts hot air balloons and scientific balloon releases.

The problem is that the soft materials in balloons can easily obstruct animals' airways if they accidentally try to eat them.

"Releasing balloons anywhere in Hawaii is in effect discarding them into the ocean, because that is likely where they will end up," photographer Doug Perrine testified, according to West Hawaii Today. "Knowing that such debris can kill even an animal as large and magnificent as the endangered sperm whale gives me a sense of horror when I see people at beach parties releasing dozens or even hundreds of balloons."

(The photo from Up is just because it's a good movie. With balloons. Which technically haven't been "released," so I'm hoping Carl Frederickson wouldn't be fined in Hawaii.)

Before I began working for Plastics News, I covered the agriculture industry in Michigan. In the mid-1990s, some farmers here began pushing for an update to the state's 10-cent bottle deposit law because they were starting to see containers not covered by deposits — such as water bottles and iced tea containers — show up as trash in rural ditches.

The problem, of course, has only gotten worse since then because of the rise of bottled water sales and other items not covered in the bill. Michigan's deposit rules cover only carbonated beverages, so a bottle with still water doesn't have a deposit, but something like a LaCroix sparkling water does have a deposit.

Our sister paper Crain's Detroit Business has a series of stories on the problems with Michigan's bottle deposit law, including consideration of whether the state should revamp not only the bottle bill, but the entire recycling system to ensure more recyclable items make it into the actual recycling system.

As the stories note, even with a deposit, fewer bottles are being returned. In 2010, 96.1 percent of all bottles and cans were redeemed. By 2019, that number had slipped to less than 90 percent.

"The downward trend is troubling for at least two reasons," reporter Eric Freedman writes. "For manufacturers that rely on recycled material, it reduces the supply of what [Michigan Recycling Coalition Executive Director Kerrin] O’Brien describes as 'very high-quality material, already separated. People are cleaning it out because it's going to grocery stores.'"

This week's print issue of PN brings you stories about new products by materials makers, the last in our "Showcase" series featuring items that would have been introduced at the now-canceled NPE2021.

These stories will also run online throughout this week. The previous two weeks we focused on primary equipment makers and auxiliary equipment suppliers.

This week's Showcase stories from Frank Esposito include items such as new nylon blends from Teknor Apex, Milliken additives for increased sustainability and Sabic materials improving performance along with sustainability.