Kickstart: UN adds to a spotlight on plastics the industry may not want

Expect to hear a lot about plastics — most of it negative — during the next few days out of New York.

The city is home to the annual meeting of former President Bill Clinton's Clinton Global Initiative Sept. 18-19 and the United Nations General Assembly meeting Sept. 18-26. Both events will highlight sustainability efforts worldwide along with security, health care and human rights.

Look no further than Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey's Sept. 18 announcement for an example of what may be coming. Healey said she will sign an executive order later this week to prohibit state agencies from buying single-use plastic water bottles effective immediately, Boston-based TV station WBTS reported.

If it happens, then Massachusetts will be the first state in the nation to take that action. It would also come after state legislators have failed in past attempts to enact a ban.

"I'll … sign an executive order to ban the purchase of single-use plastic bottles by state agencies, effective immediately," Healey wrote on a social media post. "Plastics are one of the biggest threats to our oceans. In government, we can chart a better path forward, and Massachusetts is proud to lead the way."

How exactly this would happen and the details of what any ban would cover remains to be seen. I'm also uncertain what the state will do during an emergency if it needs to distribute drinking water. Yes, there are canned water options, but not those aren't as readily available.

In neighboring Connecticut, high density polyethylene toothpaste tubes are facing public policy scrutiny.

PN's Steve Toloken writes that Attorney General William Tong has opened an investigation to determine whether Colgate-Palmolive Co. violated state law by marketing its all-HDPE tubes as recyclable.

The tubes, used by the Colgate and Tom's of Maine brands, were rolled out as a better alternative to multilayer packaging that includes both plastic and aluminum. But while the HDPE options may technically be recyclable, no major recyclers accept them. Consumer groups contend that calling the tubes recyclable amounts to greenwashing by the company.

Colgate maintains the allegations "are without merit," Steve writes, adding that its packaging also tells buyers to check with local recycling facilities.

Perhaps one tidbit out of the past few days with a more positive spin on plastics comes from The Courier & Press in Evansville, Ind., in a story mentioning the start of the Boy Scouts of America's annual popcorn fundraiser.

Scouts in Evansville were the first to sell popcorn, starting in 1979. (The other proposal for a fundraiser was to sell sweat socks. Popcorn, obviously, won out.)

As popcorn marketing spread to other troops, local Scouting leaders reached out to a local business for some help in packaging the items: Berry Global Group.

The Courier & Press doesn't have any details on Berry's contributions, but feel free to reach out if you have information to share.

Berry notes on its website that it currently makes popcorn buckets for movie theaters as part of its product offerings.