Kickstart: The state of resins in Europe

Most of the news from Europe lately, as it impacts processors in the U.S., has been on the war in Ukraine and supplies of natural gas from Russia to Western European nations. (This week's Material Insights video includes comments from Avient Corp. executives on that topic, if you haven't watched it yet.)

But in his update on European virgin resin pricing trends, David Platt of Sustainable Plastics notes something that could affect pricing in the region, even if it hasn't made much news in the U.S.

Austrian material company OMV AG's refinery in Schwechat has been offline since early June when an outer shell on one of the columns of the crude oil distillation unit was damaged during a required test on water pressure. Because the damage is located in a lower section of the column that is difficult to access, OMV may not have the site up and running again until late in the third quarter of this year.

"It remains unclear exactly what this means for the cracker [at Schwechat], which is a key supplier of ethylene and polypropylene plants at OMV unit Borealis," David writes.

You can get more on what's happening with European prices here.

The Pringles brand of chips is getting rid of the plastic top on some packaging in Australia.

In a FAQ on the Pringles page for Australia, the company says it will eliminate the plastic top on 53-gram packages and instead use a heavier foil seal to reduce the amount of plastics used and improve sustainability. The lid will remain on larger 134-gram containers, since those are frequently shared and resealed.

"We also know from consumer feedback that the plastic lids are not widely used for resealing our ... small cans," the company says. "Therefore, we are currently experimenting with other methods to maintain this while we are on a journey to achieving sustainable lids across [the] entire range."

Removing the cap from just that size of packaging will reduce Pringles' plastics use by 26 metric tons per year.

In addition to cutting the lid in some Australian packaging, brand owner Kellogg's Co. is testing recyclable packaging for the snacks in Italy.

If you want to get local, state and federal politicians on your side, it helps to make sure they understand what you do.

So when U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon, R-Indiana, stopped by Advanced Drainage Systems Inc.'s Brazil, Ind., facility, it was a chance to discuss "infrastructure, recycling and jobs programs that impact the company's operations," the pipe maker and recycler said in a July 29 blog post.

ADS' high density polyethylene pipes made at the Indiana site support infrastructure projects such as roads and highways, while "improving our recycling infrastructure will be good for ADS, the economy and Indiana's communities," Bucshon said in the blog.

ADS is the top recycler in North America and was No. 4 in Plastics News' new ranking of pipe, profile and tubing extruders in the region.