Kickstart: Style and sustainability

An office furniture icon is about to become more sustainable.

The entire Eames Shell Chair portfolio will be switched to 100 percent post-industrial recycled plastics, Herman Miller Inc. announced Sept. 15.

"Ray and Charles Eames embraced a spirit of continuous reinvention for the Molded Plastic Chair, especially in developing the use of sustainable materials with each iteration," Herman Miller President Ben Watson said in a news release.

The chair debuted in 1950 and quickly became a staple in offices, schools and restaurants. It was made of fiberglass until 2006, when it made the switch to PP. Fiberglass returned to the chair in 2013 because of improved manufacturing methods for composites, the Zeeland, Mich.-based furniture company said.

Electric vehicles may be in the spotlight at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but infrastructure programs to support EVs are also getting its share of the attention.

President Joe Biden's administration announced Sept. 14 that it has approved spending for charging stations in plans submitted by Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

The $900 million set aside for charging stations will support chargers to be build in 2022-23 across 53,000 miles of U.S. highways, Audrey LaForest from our sister paper Automotive News writes.

For plastics suppliers, that should mean a big investment in electrical connectors, wiring, flexible hoses and big thermoformed components of a charging station's exterior housing.

Nick Nigro, the founder of EV research group Atlas Public Policy, said the funding is the EV equivalent of federal government spending on the U.S. interstate freeway system in the 1950s and 1960s.

The list of finalists for the Plastics Industry Awards 2022 — focused on the United Kingdom and Ireland — was released Sept. 14 after being postponed from Sept. 8 because of news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The shortlist for the 21st annual awards includes product designers, OEM manufacturers, suppliers, plastics processors, consultants, apprentices and trainees.

It also includes, in the list of finalists for the best recycled plastic product, "Peequal, the U.K.'s First Women's Urinal by Peequal."

This is a new product to me, but having had more than a few bad experiences with portable toilets, I was intrigued.

The company was developed by Hazel McShane and Amber Probyn, who had experienced long lines for portable toilets at music festivals and other events. (Yes, I know men get stuck in those lines too, but they have other options, and don't have the same level of contact during every use.)

The Peequal system is made up of a series of flat-pack plastic panels made using plastics recovered from the ocean and bio-based material. The walls can be configured in different shapes to meet the available space while blocking the view from outside. Each squat toilet compartment also includes hand holds to make it easier to maneuver.

I reserve judgment on whether I'd want to use a Peequal, but I applaud the idea of exploring other options for when nature calls.