Archive for August, 2009
Plastic carts can’t stand Ohio weather
Friday, August 14th, 2009
Even here in the polymer valley, plastic products sometimes can't win the battle against other materials. The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal has a story today on how local grocery chain Acme Fresh Market Inc. is ending a 4-year experiment with plastic shopping carts and going back to metal.
President Steve Albrecht told the newspaper: "In the winters, they get so cold and the plastic gets brittle. We've had a number of them crack and break and the wheels don't hold up. The ice with the salt that we have in the parking lot, that corroded some of the wheels."
He added: "Our customers did like them very much, but they just weren't able to hold up."
Like everything else that can't stand Ohio winters, the plastic carts are moving South -- but not to Florida or Myrtle Beach. The best of the carts have been shipped to the Acme store in North Canton, Ohio, where they'll spend the next couple of years, presumably golfing every Wednesday and enjoying early-bird-dinner specials on Friday nights.
Don't plastic shopping cart makers offer a cart that can stand up to Ohio weather?
Armature Wire, Wire Mesh and Friendly Plastic
Friday, August 14th, 2009
We continue to grow!!! We are 230 + members strong on Facebook! We need more more more!!!
Im sure most of you are familiar with the Friendly Plastic Queen of texture, Liz Welch. We have soooo many new members, that I thought it appropriate to feature her again - especially since we are on the topic of Mixed Media with Friendly Plastic.
Liz combines armature wire (the silver wire), WireForm wire mesh and friendly plastic to create unique designs full of texture!
Armature wire comes in several thicknesses from 3/16" down to 1/16. Because it is made of aluminum it can be textured with a hammer or patterned with metal stamps. It bends so easily and provides a nice bold statement. 
Im sure most of you are familiar with the Friendly Plastic Queen of texture, Liz Welch. We have soooo many new members, that I thought it appropriate to feature her again - especially since we are on the topic of Mixed Media with Friendly Plastic.
Liz combines armature wire (the silver wire), WireForm wire mesh and friendly plastic to create unique designs full of texture!
Armature wire comes in several thicknesses from 3/16" down to 1/16. Because it is made of aluminum it can be textured with a hammer or patterned with metal stamps. It bends so easily and provides a nice bold statement.
Wireform Mesh also comes in a variety of colors (aluminum, copper and brass) along with a variety of textures and styles. Just look at the texture in the Friendly Plastic once it is pressed up into the mesh...
Liz has a website full of creative and inspiring ideas when it comes to mixing things with friendly plastic so be sure to check her out. - click here
WireForm Metal and Armature wire can be found at Michaels stores or online at amaco.com
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Become our Fan on FACEBOOK!!
Baseball, plastic, safety and testosterone
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
If you build a better helmet, will Major League Baseball beat a path to your door? Maybe not, according to this story from The New York Times about a new baseball helmet from Rawlings that the company touts as the safest on the market.
According to the company, the S100 helmet can withstand the impact of a 100-mph fastball. Compare that to other helmets on the market that can't stand up to direct hit from a 70 mph heater.
Most Little League kids aren't throwing 100 mph, so obviously the S100 is aimed at advanced players. But according to the story, most of the big league players who the Times reporters interviewed thought the new helmet was too heavy, too bulky, and wasn't attractive enough for them to wear.
Huh?
Yes. But don't be surprised. According to the report, most Major Leaguers are already using batting helmets that are not certified by independent testing organizations -- because most of these guys use helmets that don't have enough interior padding and don't have two earflaps.
What makes the S100 so tough? According to the story, it "has a layer of expanded polypropylene, the hard, foamlike material used in bicycle helmets," plus "a composite insert strip built into the frame that helps the helmet retain its protective oval shape upon impact."
Mixing Beads with Friendly Plastic
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Yesterday, I shared inspiration on mixing ArtEmboss pewter metal with Friendly Plastic.
Because this is such a versatile medium, I thought we would continue that discussion.
So today, I am again featuring Karine Collignon. She is an artist living in France. Karine's work is a the perfect combination of beads, wire and marbling techniques to create one of a kind pieces of jewelry.
This link will take you to one of my favorite ensembles of hers -- click here
Because this is such a versatile medium, I thought we would continue that discussion.
So today, I am again featuring Karine Collignon. She is an artist living in France. Karine's work is a the perfect combination of beads, wire and marbling techniques to create one of a kind pieces of jewelry.
This link will take you to one of my favorite ensembles of hers -- click here
We are now 206 members strong on Facebook!!! So Welcome to all of our new members! WE hope you enjoy what you see....get inspired...and return the inspiration by sharing your work with us!
Now...for you new members....who can you invite???
Become our Fan on FACEBOOK!!
Mother Jones takes on Fiji Water
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
Anna Lenzer of muckraking news organization Mother Jones has an interesting feature on Fiji Water Co. LLC, as part of a special report it has dubbed "Spin the Bottle."
Plastic is only part of the story -- the feature also looks at the company's role in Fiji's economy, the health of its residents and the company's environmental performance compared to its marketing message.
There's some drama, too: Lenzer reports that at one point during her visit to Fiji, police took her in for questioning. Apparently the authories were monitoring emails she was writing during her trip.
Here's a bit of what she has to say about the company's iconic square-shaped PET bottles:
Nowhere in Fiji Water's glossy marketing materials will you find reference to the typhoid outbreaks that plague Fijians because of the island's faulty water supplies; the corporate entities that Fiji Water has -- despite the owners' talk of financial transparency -- set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg; or the fact that its signature bottle is made from Chinese plastic in a diesel-fueled plant and hauled thousands of miles to its ecoconscious consumers.The Huffington Post took note of the story today, and is planning a live discussion on Aug. 17 that will bring together bottled water experts, industry representatives and critics.
Formosa Plastics heirs disputing estate
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Heirs to Yung-Ching Wang, multi-billionaire founder of Formosa Plastics Group, are preparing for a legal battle over his estate.
The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., has a feature story about the dispute -- Wang had a mansion in Short Hills, N.J., and many of the Formosa Plastics operations in the United States are headquartered in Livingston.
Formosa Plastics Corp. USA is a major PVC and polyolefin supplier, and the company has plenty of other major U.S. affiliates, including film major Inteplast Group Ltd., and rigid PVC film and polyester fiber maker Nan Ya Plastics Corp. USA.
According to the Star-Ledger story, Wang never completed a will, and now his nine children can't agree on who should control the estate. On Thursday, one of his sons, Winston Wen-Young Wong, plans to ask a Newark Superior Court to designate him administrator.
If this case goes to trial, be prepared for enough personal intrigue to keep a team of soap opera writers busy for the next year.
Plastic pallet makers fire back
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Remember a few months ago, when the trade group for wood pallet makers charged that plastic pallets are a fire hazard?
The war of words is continuing today, with a company that provides a pool of all-plastic pallets calling on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to "launch a comprehensive investigation of wood pallets and the risks they may pose to the nation's food supply."
"Wood pallets may present a serious risk to America's food supply. The over 1 billion wood pallets in circulation in the U.S. are a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and carry other undesirable substances that can cross-contaminate food," said Bob Moore, chairman and CEO, of Intelligent Global Pooling Systems Co. LLC in Orlando, Fla.
"Wood is inherently porous and can easily absorb bacteria and fluids, creating a risk for food products where Listeria, E. coli and salmonella are a concern," he said.
Moore pointed out other issues with wood pallets -- but nothing really new, since plastic pallet makers have been making this case against wood for years.
One thing is clear -- there's some bad blood between the wood and plastic pallet sectors.
Plastics folks take leading roles at IDSA
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
A couple of plastics-related people have assumed co-chair duties of the Industrial Designers Society of America's Materials & Processes Section that long has been headed by Warren Ginn (himself formerly of Fort Wayne Plastics and Integrated Design Systems).
Both of the new chairs work for plastics companies in Wisconsin: Kristin Charlton is manager for market and business development at Bemis Manufacturing Co. in Sheboygan Falls; while Deidre Kruser is vice president of design at Northern Engraving Corp. in Sparta.
Ginn (a fellow blogger) has just been elevated to Professional Interest Section vice president of IDSA. He's also senior research industrial designer at Renaissance Computing Institute in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
It's a bit unusual and rather encouraging to see more plastics people get involved in IDSA leadership positions.
(... and thanks to Robert Grace, Plastics News editor, associate publisher and our unofficial liaison to the design community, for suggesting this item.)
Are reusable bags green?
Monday, August 10th, 2009
National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" is doing a series this month called "How green Is It?," which is taking a closer look at things Americans are doing because they believe they help the environment.
On Friday, the focus was on reusable bags, which some grocery chains -- and some communities -- are encouraging shoppers to use instead of the traditional paper or plastic.
To start, environmental consultant Catherine Greener points out the differences among reusable bags.
Last year, Wal-Mart started selling a black bag that was made entirely from recycled bottles. Now, it offers a cheaper blue bag that is thinner and uses less plastic. On the other hand, however, only a third of the plastic in the new blue bag is recycled. And, it lasts only about half as long as the black one. "I think we are living in the land of confusion right now as we migrate through what is less bad into what is truly good," Greener says. "This is an evolving and a moving target."That's a problem with lifecycle analysis. In the end, deciding what's best requires some assumptions. What should manufacturers optimize? Carbon footprint? Recyclability? Recycled content? Not everyone is going to agree. In the end, deciding between paper, plastic and resusable bags isn't going to make a lot of difference for the environment, according to Bob Lilienfeld, editor of the Use Less Stuff report (which touts lifecycle impact studies on its home page).
In the big picture, he says, the big fuss around shopping bags is really just a distraction. "The bag is not the environmental bogey-person that everybody thinks it is," he says. "If you look at the entire grocery package that you bought, the bag may account for 1 to 2 percent of the environmental impact. "The other packaging may account for 7 percent. Ninety percent is accounted for by the products you buy. That's where all the environmental impact is."Thanks to blog reader Andrew Peacock for pointing out the NPR story. He called the report "refreshingly balanced." Let's watch the "How Green Is It?" series for more plastics-related topics.
Can the garbage patch be recycled?
Monday, August 10th, 2009
We're in the heart of "voyage to the garbage patch" season now, with a couple of missions finally underway aimed at studying the plastic soup in the Pacific Ocean that has become a focus of attention for the global marine debris problem.
One effort, called Project Kaisei, is aimed in part at determining "how to capture the debris and to study the possible retrieval and processing techniques that could be potentially employed to detoxify and recycle these materials into diesel fuel."
The Kasei team has been blogging about its trip, and a recent post notes an emphasis on investigating whether the plastic debris can be recycled.
Since one of the mission's objectives is recycling, we welcomed a donation from the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR); one of two principal donors of the project. Recycling marine debris would contribute to both cleaning up the ocean and delivering even more recycled resources. We look forward to working with local and international recyclers on innovative ways to repurpose marine debris. Our biggest contribution came from an anonymous individual, who is a lifelong environmentalist and innovator. It is people like this who, with our Project Kaisei team, are putting forth the effort to change the world for the better.Can the plastic vortex be captured and recycled? That seems like a pretty big undertaking. Assuming it is theoretically possible, can it be practical? Maybe so, if you take into account not just the energy and effort necessary, but also the importance of the ocean and marine life. I recall a debate back in 1992 -- long before the plastic marine debris problem became widely known -- where an environmentalist cited plastics as a growing source of marine pollution. Someone from the plastics industry shot back that the problem was not limited to plastics -- but that plastics were visible because of their density. In other words, plastics float, while other trash sinks. He was right, but that didn't make the plastic marine debris problem go away. Let's hope that the Kaisei team discovers a cost-effective solution to this problem. In the meantime, the attention focused on marine debris will continue to keep legislative pressure on the industry, as more communities consider restrictions, bans and taxes on plastic bags and polystyrene takeout packaging.