The plastics industry recently unveiled two campaigns aimed, at least in part, on improving the image of plastics. In Plastics in Politics Live, Steve Toloken explained the Plastics Industry Association’s “Recycling is Real” campaign, and the American Chemistry Council’s “Chemistry Creates, America Competes” effort.
Is there substance behind the messages? And what are the policy implications? For example, ACC is pushing back against what it sees as overly strict, restrictive Biden administration regulatory approaches. Steve discussed how that ties into ACC’s efforts on chemical recycling of plastic waste.
They also discussed the reintroduction of a bill that would place a 20 cent per pound tax on virgin resin used in single-use plastics. Another topic: the need to collect more recyclable plastics, and how one senator is trying to come up with a national bottle deposit law that would be acceptable to more states. Also, state EPR debate was back in the spotlight at a conference in Oregon.