Kickstart: A catchy slogan for Earth Day, but overly simplistic

The theme of this year's Earth Day, Planet vs. Plastics, is certain to prompt some eye-rolling, to say the least, in the plastics industry.

Beyond the alliteration, though, you can see why it might resonate as a slogan for anyone fed up with our inability to manage waste — alongside projections we're going to generate a lot more in the future — especially if you're worried about the health impacts of PFAS or endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

But to frame it Planet vs. Plastic, in a Good vs. Evil sort of way, is simplistic.

In the words of one plastics industry group, it's a catchy but misguided slogan.

Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers, writes in a blog that the slogan ignores the contributions of plastic to modern life and to the U.N.'s sustainable development goals.

He points out the role of plastics in pipes for clean drinking water, tubing and IV bags in medical care and materials to make cars lighter.

Something like Planet vs. Single-Use Packaging, or Planet vs. Overconsumption of Fossil Fuels might be more on point as a slogan. But it's not as catchy.

Thanks to Plastics News' Steve Toloken for this item.

Speaking of catchy slogans — or in this case a catchy name — the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has rebranded as the Recycled Materials Association, or ReMA for short.

ISRI has mostly worked on the metal recycling side of the industry but has worked alongside plastics recyclers for many projects. It has also been working to reframe its mission around wider sustainability issues. And I'd guess having a name with the word "scrap" in it isn't necessarily as appealing to a wide audience.

"Our new name, the Recycled Materials Association, clearly and accurately describes who we are as an organization and who we represent," Robin Wiener, president of the Recycled Materials Association, said in a news release.

Want to prime yourself for the next round of the global plastics treaty talks? Spotify has you covered.

Andres Del Castillo, an attorney for the Center for International Environmental Law and a treaty negotiator, has put together a playlist on Spotify for anyone who needs motivation before the next round, beginning April 23 in Ottawa, Ontario. And no, it's not me just making a connection to a random playlist. Del Castillo's description goes on to use the hashtags #PlasticsTreaty in Ottawa and #INC4, the official designation for the talks.

There are, as you'd expect, songs among the 62 referring specifically to plastics (The Beatles' "Polythene Pam," Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" and Aqua's "Barbie Girl") along with anthems celebrating the world (Duran Duran's "Planet Earth" and Michael Jackson's "Earth Song") and songs to pump up the underdog (Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" and John Lennon's "Power to the People").

But that doesn't mean plastics industry representatives can't find their own musical motivation on the list. While environmental groups can point to plastics as sticking around "forever," as the Aretha Franklin version of "Say a Little Prayer" notes, the same song also makes clear that "to live without you would only mean heartbreak for me."