Kickstart: A stormy forecast

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a very busy hurricane season.

The NOAA 2024 Atlantic hurricane season forecast, released May 23, says there is an 85 percent chance of an above-normal season, June 1-Nov. 30, and just a 5 percent chance of a below-normal number of storms.

It expects up to 25 named storms, as many as 13 hurricanes and four to seven major hurricanes. Between 1991 and 2020, the average was 14.4 named storms and 3.2 major hurricanes, according to Colorado State University.

The forecast essentially mirrors those released by private weather forecasting companies earlier this year.

A rise in the number of Atlantic hurricanes can mean disruption for the North American plastics industry because there is so much resin and chemical production on the U.S. Gulf Coast. After Hurricane Laura in 2020, about 18 percent of the U.S. polyethylene production and 26 percent of polypropylene production was offline, ICIS noted.

Scotland's top soccer teams are considering whether to go plastic free, not in terms of packaging or concessions but on the field.

The Scottish Professional Football League has proposed eliminating artificial turf from the stadiums used by the 12 top teams that make up the Premiership League. Nine of the 12 teams will have to vote in favor of it. Real grass has been preferred by top clubs in most regions, and it is seen as safer overall since players can be injured if their cleats are caught in damaged turf.

But some smaller clubs say the proposal is "flawed on a number of levels and, if approved, will cause significant long-term damage to Scottish football."

The Raith Rovers, Falkirk, Hamilton Academical and Queen of the South teams put out a joint statement noting that Scotland's weather isn't friendly to grass. It could cost more than $750,000 to maintain the field, which would be cost prohibitive for smaller clubs looking to move up to the Premiership League.

"Scotland is the world's most northerly non-Arctic nation, and our climate simply isn't always conducive to having perfect grass pitches due to high levels of rainfall, minimal sunshine, and high cloud coverage," they wrote.

If SPFL does require real turf, they added, then it should also provide a stipend to help pay for it.

Increased spending by municipal water systems is leading to expansions in pipe production.

Westlake Pipe & Fittings announced May 23 that it is building a 190,000-square-foot plant in Wichita Falls, Texas, to make molecular-oriented PVC pipe in the U.S.

The site will have six production lines focused on products for water conveyance.

PVCO — which begins with the same material as PVC pipes, but is stretched to improve strength — has been around for at least a decade, but has generated more interest due to infrastructure spending. Westlake first introduced it in Canada in 2021.