Kickstart: A ‘speck-quack-ular' escape

A "rubber duck" race to raise money for the Nevada Humane Society turned into a river cleanup job when plastic ducks escaped a fenced area of the Truckee River in Reno, Nev., to float downstream.

The animal rescue group said in a Facebook post that it had sold 39,380 ducks — with $5 donated for each numbered duck, it was a "speck-quack-ular" fundraising result, the group said — for the Aug. 12 event. Once placed in the river, however, there were issues with the system to capture them, the website This Is Reno noted.

"Some of our ducks were a little flighty in such a strong current and escaped the fencing," the Humane Society said on Facebook.

Volunteers, firefighters and community groups stepped in to try to round up the escaped ducks, but This Is Reno noted the ducks were spotted at least 4 miles downriver.

The Humane Society has an extra cleanup set for Aug. 19 to help "round up the remaining ducks and … [grab] all remaining escapees." It is also asking the public to contact the society if they spot a "pocket of ducks" in the river.

The packaging industry is in transition. It is facing issues related to government requirements, bans and extended producer responsibility fees. It is hearing from brand owners who want more sustainable options (but at the same or lower price). At the same time, a lack of reliable streams of recycled material is hindering efforts to make greener containers.

With all those issues at play, it's important to be informed.

I may be biased, but I think Plastics News carries all kinds of vital information on a regular basis. But how about getting that information for free?

Through the end of this month, you can register at no charge to attend PN's Plastics Caps and Closures conference, taking place online Oct. 11 (and available for replay after Oct. 11 to registrants). The price goes up to $99 on Sept. 1.

Jacob Long, senior manager of global procurement with Coca-Cola Co., will be the keynote speaker, discussing key trends and opportunities in beverage closures. Aisha Stenning, a program manager on the plastics team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will address progress on the group's global commitment.

You can find the registration link and more information at plasticsnews.com/caps.

Materials suppler Teknor Apex and artificial turf brand AstroTurf have joined the Cyclyx International consortium, a group aiming to increase plastics recyclability.

As a member of Cyclyx, Teknor Apex will be able to take part in customized takeback programs, our sister paper Sustainable Plastics writes.

AstroTurf, which already offers what it calls a "climate positive" turf made with bio-based polyethylene sugar cane, says as part of the consortium it will be "well positioned to implement further sustainable practices" that have the potential of helping it reclaim more than 10 million pounds of PE waste that would otherwise go to landfills, SP notes.