Kickstart: EPR, carpets and a complicated story of recycling

Extended producer responsibility is a big issue for the plastics industry, with government, environmental groups and even some in the industry looking at programs that would add a fee to materials to provide funding for recycling.

An article on the website Politico notes, however, that it's not a simple issue, even if EPR programs are passed.

"The industry-run group Carpet America Recovery Effort kicked two members off of its board earlier this spring for supporting New York and Illinois bills that would create recycling programs similar to California's [EPR program], which it helps run," Politico's Catherine Boudreau and Debra Kahn write.

California's program levies a 35-cent-per-yard fee to finance the recycling program. The state also has a 28 percent recycling rate for carpets, well over the national average of 9 percent, Politico reports. Carpet manufacturers, however, say the fee makes their products less competitive.

"This is not just about carpet. When industries control recycling programs, and there aren't enough guardrails, things can go very wrong," Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the National Stewardship Action Council, told Politico.

It is, as you would expect, a complex issue. Read the full story here. And EPR will be part of the conversation for the Plastics in Politics Livestream starting at 2 p.m. Eastern today, free for Plastics News subscribers, with PN's Steve Toloken and Don Loepp.

What can a maker of automotive seating do when the auto industry slows down? Magna International Inc. used its seating expertise to create and give 239 "FreeForm" seats, integrating its manufacturing and design technology for specialized seats at the Michigan Science Center's Dome IMAX theater.

The donation is part of Magna's support for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

The seats have headrests that make looking up at the dome more comfortable and Aurora, Ontario-based Magna's foam construction eliminates deep trenches in the seat covering, making the seats easier to clean.

Sometimes, missing a specific piece of paper is the only thing keeping a good employee from getting hired.

So General Motors Co. is getting rid of the requirement for that piece of paper, specifically a four-year college degree, for some jobs. Our sister paper Automotive News writes that GM has dropped its requirement in favor of a "skills-based, people-focused hiring process instead."

The strategy, GM says, is part of its focus on improving diversity and hiring a wider range of employees. At the same time, it helps to fill job openings.

"When you focus on what's required of the job vs., say, a four-year degree, as your ticket in, it allows you the opportunity to open the aperture to another pool of talent," Tammy Golden, GM's executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion and head of the automaker's workforce strategy, told AN.

Also, this is a reminder that Plastics News' annual diversity issue will be published Aug. 8. Please head over to www.plasticsnews.com/DiversityIssue and fill out a survey to tell us what your companies are doing to attract more talent.