Kickstart: An initial shipment for Braskem from South Carolina

Braskem has made its first international shipment of polypropylene from its new Global Export Hub in Charleston, S.C.

The site is able to support shipments of up to 450 million pounds of PP and specialty polymers anually, supporting Braskem sites in Texas, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The materials giant announced the project in June 2020. It joins a similar international export hub in Houston.

"Given the current tight North American market, we are prioritizing our domestic clients, but over time, the hub will allow us to leverage our feedstock advantaged, polymer production assets in the U.S Gulf Goast, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to best meet our international clients needs," Alexandre Elias, vice president, Olefins & Polyolefins North America, said.

The Recycling Leadership Council will be hosting a news conference later today to "unveil a comprehensive plan to modernize America's recycling system."

Great topic, and something sorely needed. But there's something curious about the people taking part in this event. There are members of Congress and representatives from the Consumer Brands Association, the Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners along with the president of the Glass Packaging Institute.

But no one from the plastics industry or one of plastics recycling groups. No one from the aluminum, paper or steel recycling groups either.

Let's give the project the benefit of the doubt. The RLC includes the Flexible Packaging Association and Ameripen and the Consumer Brands group includes multiple companies that rely on plastic packaging, so there is plastics representation within the group, if not within those groups participating in the virtual press conference.

And the plan may indeed provide the needed framework for every material to benefit. We'll have to wait and see, and hope it really can deliver.

There's a new project in process to scoop up marine plastics on the ocean, and this time it involves a sailboat.

The Manta, when it's built, will be a catamaran that can collect plastics up to about 3 feet deep in the ocean, typically closer to shore, backers with The Seacleaners say. Two smaller boats can be dispatched from the Manta to work closer to shore in shallow waters the sailboat can't reach.

Unlike some other waste collection systems, such as The Ocean Cleanup, plastic waste captured by Seacleaners will be pelletized and sent to an on-board waste-to-energy unit that will supply energy for operating the ship, along with solar and wind energy collection systems. Any recovered glass and metal will be stored for standard recycling.

For now, the Manta exists only on paper. The Seacleaners hope to have a working prototype by 2024.