Viewpoint
Critics today point to plastics' explosive growth since a PR campaign. But they didn't grow because of TV ads; they grew because they offer convenience and value, and because of the combined efforts of thousands to find new applications and to replace metal, glass and paper with plastic.
Our goal is to shine a light on how much recycled resin is available for processors to purchase and to identify the companies that supply it. That is different from other listings of recyclers that include firms that recycle exclusively for their own consumption.
Special Projects Editor Jordan Vitick takes a look at why the Great Resignation might not have affected companies on the Best Places to Work list.
The incentive to get moving on sustainability is clear to many plastics industry millennials even as they recognize that business can be affected.
The sudden ouster of the Plastics Industry Association's CEO puts the group in a place it didn't want to be. Steve Toloken has some ideas on the path ahead.
Don Loepp: It will be tough for the 2022 finalists to match the outstanding results that we saw from this year's Processor of the Year award. But based on what they all said about the opportunities for North American processors, I have high expectations.
In the 1990s, some business leaders gave lip service to being committed to recycling when their commitment was just a marriage of convenience. But even though I see parallels to how industry reacted to public pressure then and today, I am still optimistic that plastics can succeed in this new era of circularity.
It will take a few years to be felt, but the global plastics treaty negotiations launched a few days ago at the United Nations will have a big impact. Here are some of the ways it could.
From presidents and managers to scientists and engineers, this year's Rising Stars prove the plastics industry's future is bright.
Don Loepp: "Hollywood wants to change how we feel about single-use plastics. I'd argue that the initiative, called 'Flip the Script on Plastics,' shows that the Hollywood establishment is trailing public opinion, not leading it."