Kickstart: Investing in 3D now because 'things ... happen quickly'

Lubrizol Corp. of Wickliffe, Ohio, knew it wanted to grow into 3D printing expertise, but it took a long, hard look at contenders before acquiring a Colorado company.

"We want to create value with disruptive technology," 3D Printing Solutions General Manager Gert-Jan Nijhuis told PN's Frank Esposito.

Lubrizol looked at 100 different companies before deciding to buy Avid Product Development LLC. The company is heavily involved in 3D printing for the shoe industry, along with the industrial and medical markets.

"We wanted to make a move, because things in [3D printing] can happen quickly," Nijhuis said. "And it takes time to develop materials."

Check out Frank's story for more.

Lego has been very vocal about its interest in using a more sustainable material for its bricks. It's also been willing to spend money to make that happen, hiring engineers and investing hundreds of millions of dollars into research.

Lego's newest sustainability move isn't about the bricks, though. Instead it wants to replace the plastic bags that hold the bricks inside a cardboard box with paper alternatives.

It tested different paper bags on kids this year, who gave it extra points for being easy to open.

With restaurants mostly closed to indoor dining, Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema has been ordering a lot of takeout. Along with the food came lots and lots and lots of containers, paper napkins and plastic utensils.

He saved up three weeks worth of takeout trash to examine exactly how much he went through, and ask what he could do to recycle or minimize it.

"The stream of paper, plastic, aluminum and glass that came through my door from roughly 30 orders shocked and depressed me. I accumulated enough waste to fill two recycling containers — nearly 100 gallons of space — not to mention a torrent of guilt," he wrote.

Some restaurants are promoting an option that would use more robust containers, inviting users to wash and reuse them or return them to the restaurant later for a discount off their next order, Sietsema writes.

Earlier this summer, PN's Steve Toloken wrote about a move by environmental groups that also takes aim at takeout business. The groups want to reduce the number of single-use utensils that end up in landfills, in part by promoting a way for consumers to opt out of getting forks or napkins if they don't need them.