Kickstart: A move to ban the ban

Detroit City Council members think it's time for the state of Michigan to get rid of a law that preempts communities from enacting stricter rules on single-use plastics.

Michigan passed the preemption law in 2016, halting cities from regulating single-use plastic containers. (The state already has a 10-cent deposit for carbonated beverage bottles.) On Oct. 3, the council voted unanimously in favor of a proposed bill that would restore local governments' right to set higher requirements than the state. The move recognizes "local governments as best positioned to assess and mitigate the environmental and health impacts of single-use plastics within their communities."

"Detroiters find themselves disproportionately impacted by the entire life cycle of single-use plastics," city leaders said in a news release.

"Our stores are filled with it and our streets are scattered with plastic waste that clog our drains and overwhelm our wastewater system, while only a small fraction of Detroit's plastic waste (4.4 percent) is potentially recyclable," KT Morelli, co-chair of the council's Green Task Force and a delegate for the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, added in the release.

Senate Bill 228, calling for eliminating the preemption rule, was introduced in March. The bill is being reviewed by the Michigan State Legislature Committee on Energy and Environment.

Residents of Hilliard, Ohio, will have more chances to be active thanks to a massive city recreation project supported by $500,000 worth of pipes and stormwater drainage management donated by Advanced Drainage Systems Inc.

ADS is based in Hilliard, where it is also building a 110,000-square-foot engineering and technology center.

The city's Recreation and Wellness Campus covers 125 acres and will be home to a 105,000-square-foot indoor sports complex — with a pool, indoor track and weight room. Outside, the park will have two artificial turf playing fields and another 20 grass fields.

"ADS is committed to investing in our communities to help them manage water," Scott Barbour, ADS president and CEO, said in a news release. "Water is the most precious resource we have, and by protecting it, ADS also protects and improves the quality of life for people, not only here in Hilliard, but in cities nationwide."

ADS is No. 4 in the most recent Plastics News ranking of North American pipe, profile and tubing makers, with $2.4 billion in relevant sales.

Lego A/S is in global growth mode.

In addition to construction of a new U.S. plant in Virginia, the Danish toymaker announced late last month that will add 30,000 square meters (322,000 square feet) to its manufacturing site in Nyíregyháza, Hungary, starting later this year.

The expansion will increase its toy packaging capacity by 30 percent and add 300 workers to its existing workforce of 3,300.

Lego executives say the expansion will also support the company's sustainability goals. The site is home to a solar power operation — the firm opened a solar array with 9,000 solar panels in 2021 — and the new buildings will include rooftop solar panels.