Good morning and happy June!
What is next for a global plastics treaty? Assistant Managing Editor Steve Toloken was in Paris last month for the United Nation's-led negotiations and covered much of the issues surrounding the language and rules that would go into the treaty. Join us Tuesday, June 13 at 2 p.m. for Plastics in Politics Live for more from the treaty. Find out more at watch last week's Material Insights on the talks here, free.
Elsewhere in this issue:
- Polypropylene prices showed a big drop in May. Frank Esposito is in this week's Material Insights talking about the PP price changes and also a note about chaos in the polyethylene market.
- Sweden's KB Components AB has gained production capabilities in the U.S. with its recent purchase of QFC Plastics Inc.
- Medical injection molder Natech Plastics Inc. is being acquired for $30 million by Stratec SE, a publicly held firm based in Birkenfeld, Germany.
- Aliaxis SA has acquired the manufacturing division of Valencia, Calif.-based Valencia Pipe Co. for $250 million to expand into the Western U.S.
- State attorneys general and the EPA are pressing the FTC to regulate plastics environmental claims more tightly.
- Greenback Recycling Technologies Ltd. plans to open 300 plants in the next two decades to handle flexible packaging.
- PureCycle Technologies Inc.'s yearslong effort to commercialize solvent-based recycling technology for PP is virtually complete. Also, PureCycle has cleared a hurdle for a second PP recycling plant in Georgia.
- Coverage from Antec 2023, a conference hosted by the Society of Plastics Engineers, held March 27-30 in Denver.