Kickstart: Going plastic-free for social media

Brace yourselves. May 25 has been set as "International Plastic-Free Day," so you may be seeing a lot of stories and social media posts about avoiding single-use plastics for the next several hours.

The nonprofit group Free the Ocean set the day to "call attention to the plastic we use day to day, especially single-use plastic."

The group claims that if everyone globally quit using single-use plastic for one day, "we'd avoid over 7.6 billion items of plastic on that one single day."

I haven't done the math myself, but the global population as of 2020 was an estimated 7.8 billion people, so the group must figure nearly all of those individuals purchase single-use plastic items each day. I think you can call me skeptical about it's claims.

That's not to say that I don't see value in avoiding single-use plastics, no matter the day. I rely on reusable bottles, bring my own bags to the store and either reuse or recycle takeout containers. But I'm not certain if a bunch of social media posts are going to change anyone's opinion on plastics, and picking a random day to be plastic-free isn't going to fix the global recycling infrastructure.

But if you see your cousin or your friend's friend that you met once or twice posting something on Facebook in the next few days, don't be surprised.

Oh, and be prepared for July 3. That's "International Plastic Bag-Free Day."

The plastics industry has a lot of interesting offshoots. Look into the background of a company, and you'll find ties between businesses you didn't know were related or businesses with a very strong link to a point in history. (Revere Plastics LLC? Yes, it does go back to a company founded by Paul Revere, the legendary silversmith of the Revolutionary War era.)

But plastics and Elvis Presley?

Yes.

While looking at background for a story on a private financial group buying thermoformer and injection molder Wilbert Plastic Services Inc., Editor Don Loepp took a look at the website for Wilbert Funeral Services Inc. Wilbert Plastic Services sold off that unit in 2009 but has continued to supply the maker of burial vaults. (The two companies now are owned by the same financial company, Alleghany Capital Corp.)

In the company history, he spotted a list of people who have been buried in Wilbert vaults, among them jazz musician Louis Armstrong, President Dwight Eisenhower (and his wife), President John Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and the King, Elvis Presley.

You never know where plastics will take you.

Lego A/S is molding a more diverse toy.

The Danish toymaker has rolled out Lego Everyone Is Awesome, "a set designed to celebrate the diversity of our fans and the world around us."

The 11 minifigures represent the rainbow flag of the LGBTQIA+ community.

"I wanted to create a model that symbolises inclusivity and celebrates everyone, no matter how they identify or who they love," said Matthew Ashton, vice president, design. "Everyone is unique, and with a little more love, acceptance and understanding in the world, we can all feel more free to be our true awesome selves! This model shows that we care, and that we truly believe 'Everyone is awesome'!"