Kickstart: 'He's completely lost the plastics plot'

The United Kingdom's plastics industry started off this week with a very serious dispute involving U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

During an Oct. 25 special question-and-answer session with children ages 8-12 in advance of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Johnson said Brits need to cut back on plastics use and not expect recycling to be the answer.

"The PM said it was a 'mistake' to think society can recycle its way out of the problem, and added: 'It doesn't work,'" broadcaster BBC wrote.

He also went on to place much of the blame on the rise of plastics packaging on "about 12 companies."

"Twelve big corporations that are producing the overwhelming bulk of the world's plastics. Big, famous drinks companies that I won't name," he said in a video posted online by The Independent, then added, "Why not? Coca-Cola for instance ... which are responsible for producing huge quantities of plastics and we've got to move away from that and find other ways of packaging and selling our stuff because it's ending up in the ecosystem."

The response from U.K. recyclers was immediate, as you'd expect. Johnson's comments, they said, could derail previous investments in recycling education and infrastructure.

Recycling Association CEO Simon Ellin, speaking on BBC's World at One program, said that the comments were "very disappointing. I think he's completely lost the plastics plot."

Meanwhile, in the U.S., Trex Co. Inc. is asking students to get involved in recycling, asking students in kindergarten through 12th grade to participate in the 15th Trex Plastic Film Recycling Challenge. Winchester, Va.-based Trex recycles polyethylene film and wood scraps into decks and other outdoor products.

Students collect polyethylene film for six months in a contest that begins Nov. 15 on America Recycles Day and concludes April 22 on Earth Day.

Winning schools receive Trex products.

"Our school challenge program provides students with a better understanding and appreciation for the importance of recycling, showing that value can be found in something that was once considered waste," Trex President and CEO Bryan Fairbanks said in a news release. "This challenge exemplifies that small, everyday efforts and a little bit of creativity can make a positive impact on not only the environment, but also on the lives of the people who live within it."

During last year's program, 271 participating schools collected nearly 130,000 pounds of plastic waste, Trex said.

People who work in the auto industry — or live near an automaker's facilities — are familiar with the camouflage carmakers put on cars during development when they want to test them on real roads but keep the car's design a secret.

A project by Dutch engineers to create a solar-powered car, the Lightyear, noted that their vehicle's shape was already well known. But the group still applied a camouflage film on all the body parts that weren't already covered by solar panels — a film with a glow-in-the-dark design as a nod to how Lightyear will collect and store the sun's energy.

"By applying the 'glow in the dark' effect to the film, we transported our imagination back to our childhood rooms, when the ceiling was covered with bright stars in a dark galaxy," Lightyear said on its website. "When we harvest that readily available energy directly where we need it, it gives us the ability to become independent, to go and be where we want. That's what we envision with our car."