Kickstart: Time for a plastic Apple Watch?

Could Apple be considering an "unapologetically plastic" watch?

In 2013, the electronics and computer giant introduced the iPhone 5c, a less expensive version of the smartphone made with a colorful polycarbonate body. Although it didn't sell as hoped, for a brief moment it was an example of what former chief designer Jony Ive referred to as "colorful and well made."

"[We were] developing form, material and color in unison, with each element informing the other," Ive said at the time. "The iPhone 5c is beautifully, unapologetically plastic."

Now there's a report out by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg stating that the company is considering alternatives to mark the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch. That includes potentially using 3D printing for the watch body to speed production and use less material and a less expensive option for the SE option.

"One idea that the company has tested is swapping out the aluminum shell in favor of rigid plastic," Gurman writes. "Perhaps it's looking to get the cost down to something that could rival [competitors]."

Colorful plastic was a big part of Apple's growth in the 1990s with the translucent plastic-bodied iMac desktop computer that helped it stand out from competitors.

Do you work with a Rising Star? Are you a Rising Star yourself?

To be specific, I'm speaking here about Plastics News' annual honors for people age 35 and younger who are on the path to becoming plastics industry leaders — or who are already there.

The 2024 honorees will be featured in the Sept. 16 issue of Plastics News. Nominations are now open and will be accepted until Aug. 16. Click here for a survey to begin the process. You can find profiles of past Rising Stars here.

We are looking for people who have not been a part of another PN award — such as Women Breaking the Mold or Notable Leaders in Sustainability — within the last five years.

Speaking of Women Breaking the Mold, the 50 members of the 2024 class will be featured in the July 22 issue of Plastics News and online at plasticsnews.com throughout late July and early August.

Eastman Chemical Co. is working with the airport serving its hometown of Kingsport, Tenn., to make sure passengers and staff can recycle.

The materials company is placing recycling drop-off locations at Tri-Cities Airport, a move that comes just a few months after Eastman announced it would set up collection sites for recyclables throughout Kingsport when the city dropped its curbside recycling program to cut costs.

Materials collected from the airport — like those from the local community — will go to Eastman's mixed plastics processing facility for chemical recycling, a program Eastman calls the world's largest material-to-material recycling facility. That $800 million site is part of more than $1 billion in investments in chemical recycling globally by Eastman.