Livestreams
Sustainability was a major theme at K 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany. In our November Sustainable Plastics Live, Karen Laird and Don Loepp discuss how the show highlighted the industry’s progress toward being more circular, including advances in materials and equipment.
The Biden administration is getting an earful on whether it should require government agencies to buy fewer single-use plastics.
With the economy slowing down, North American commodity resin prices are falling. In the livestream, senior reporter Frank Esposito recapped all the latest drops, including September decreases for polystyrene, PVC and PET bottle resin. He also gave insight into what’s likely for polyethylene and polypropylene in September and a longer-term outlook for some resins.
As brand owners begin to use resins made from chemically recycled and bio-based feedstocks, they face questions about how to market their products.
In Numbers That Matter Live, Plastics News Economics Editor Bill Wood gives an update on his forecast for the rest of 2022 and highlights key plastics end markets. Wood also talks about a sign of “irrational exuberance” in the labor market related to in-person vs. virtual work.
With slowing demand and improved logistics, many North American resin prices will be flat or down in August. But one engineering resin may show a big increase. In Polymer Points Live, Frank Esposito gives his outlook for commodity, engineering and recycled resins.
Single-use plastics are the target for more state bans and extended producer responsibility proposals. But while the debate is heating up in statehouses, when it comes to the Inflation Reduction Act, the big climate bill that Congress is working to send to President Joe Biden, the impact on plastic is barely room temperature.
With climate change in the public spotlight, plastics companies — especially in Europe — are focused on their greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable Plastics Editor Karen Laird covers why the plastics supply chain has a growing interest in being carbon neutral, what’s involved and some of the hurdles in the way.