Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category
New catalysts may encourage recycling
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Chemical catalysts rarely make big news, but today's an exception. In a paper published in Macromolecules, a journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers at IBM and Stanford University said they have discovered a new way to make plastics that...
ADM’s plant up and running
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Here's a story I've been watching for (and I assume some Plastics Blog readers have been too): Archer Daniels Midland Co. has started production at its starch-based polymer plant in Clinton, Iowa, according to a report in the Clinton Herald....
Calif. aquarium raises awareness of marine debris
Monday, March 8th, 2010
The Sea Life Aquarium at the Legoland Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., has a new exhibit aimed at raising children's awareness of plastic marine debris. The project is called "Beach Trash, A Whale of a Problem." First grade classes from a...
Plastic banknotes coming to Canada
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Pretty soon, you won't be using paper money in Canada. Bank of Canada announced yesterday that starting in 2011, it will begin to issue a new series of bank notes printed on a polymer material. The new notes will incorporate...
One city wants to educate its citizens, not ban plastics
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Here's a radical idea: a sustainability committee in one California city, concerned about litter and marine debris issues, wants to start a "massive public education" program instead of banning products like plastic bags. That's the recommendation of the South Lake...
Dangerous marine debris
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Marine debris is a serious issue, but here's a story that's a little more lighthearted. From NBC's Today show, a video of a diver in Florida removing a plastic ring from around the neck of a nurse shark. Reminds me...
Living without plastic
Monday, March 1st, 2010
Beth Terry, author of the Fake Plastic Fish blog, is in the news today, with a story and video on KGO-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco. The focus is Terry's effort to minimize the amount of plastic in her...
US Embassy design highlights ETFE
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene is making architectural headlines again, this time in the design of a proposed new US Embassy in London. The Los Angeles Times' Culture Monster blog had a nice review of the design this week. Here's what blogger Christopher...
PET recycling in the World Cup spotlight
Friday, February 26th, 2010
PET recycling is getting a lot of media attention today, thanks to Nike's decision to use recycled polyester to make the soccer uniform shirts for all nine Nike-sponsored teams in the 2010 World Cup. Teams from Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal,...
Using plastic trash to make art
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Here's another one of those posts where you have to click through to see the photos. The io9 blog has a photo gallery post today titled "Nothing Is Ever Junk When It Can Be Reembodied." It features the work of...