Kickstart: Cars increase plastics use with EVs expected to open the door for even more

The average American car is becoming more plastic.

The American Chemistry Council has a new report out showing that, on average, from 2012 to 2021 the amount of plastics in the car increased by 16 percent to 411 pounds.

That 411 pounds makes up less than 10 percent of an average vehicle's weight yet about 50 percent of its volume, ACC said, showing its ability to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions through lighter vehicles.

"Plastics in automobiles are the ultimate example of plastics innovation rooted in sustainability," Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at ACC, said in a news release. "What gets me really excited is how we are seeing automakers partner with our industry to not just incorporate plastics into vehicles, but to improve the recycling of those plastics at the end of a vehicle's life."

In addition to its use in the car, the increasing number of electric vehicles also is leading to an increased number of EV chargers, which also are big users of plastics for housings, cables, electronics and displays, ACC said.

Could the former home of the Detroit Pistons be used to make actual pistons along with other auto parts?

Our sister paper Crain's Detroit Business reports that General Motors Co. is considering the 110-acre site in Auburn Hills, Mich., as a possible home for a supplier park to house key partner companies close to its Orion Assembly Plant. The former home of the Pistons, Detroit's NBA team, is within 5 miles of the Lake Orion, Mich., GM plant.

GM would only say that it is considering "multiple locations for a supplier park," CDB's Kirk Pinho wrote.

Any supplier park GM builds to focus on its EV operations will cover about 1 million square feet.

The Pistons played at the Palace of Auburn Hills from 1988 to 2017, when it moved to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Have you ever seen a collectible figurine and thought to yourself, "Wait, someone collects those?"

Well, turns out that maybe they aren't that highly desired by collectors after all.

Funko Inc., the Everett, Wash.-based maker of the vinyl big-headed Funko Pop figures — featuring people and things from pop culture and sports ranging from Star Wars to Snoop Dogg and the recent movie Cocaine Bear — said earlier this month that it will destroy, or "eliminate,"  more than $250 million in inventory because the cost to store them in warehouses is higher than their value.

While Funko saw a net profit of $29.6 million for all of 2022, that compares with profits of $76.2 million for 2021. And the fourth quarter of 2022 recorded a loss of $17.9 million vs. profit of $20.5 million for the same quarter in 2021, the company said in its financial documents released March 1.

The unexpected expenses for the quarter included the price of a three-month warehouse rental in Arizona, the company said. But CEO Brian Mariotti noted that there is "strong consumer demand from our incredibly loyal and resilient global fan base," with direct-to-consumer growth of 37 percent.

The company did not specify what products would be destroyed.