In a recent Plastics News article, light is shined upon the Plastics Industry for 2017, as the landscape surrounding all things polyethylene will be changing dramatically. An increase in capacity of 34 billion pounds of polyethylene capacity is possible, which would almost double the current North American capacity.

Bioplastics and biobased products have been developing and maturing for decades, and have collectively been developed and commercialized in numerous examples. This has showcased the viability of biobased products as suitable replacements for traditional, long-developed petroleum-based products. This work has allowed customers to free themselves from dependency on oil, and allow them flexibility from the high costs of petroleum.

The see-saw of pricing for olefinic and other commodity plastics materials continued this month, showing a steep decline in polystyrene pricing while polypropylene prices rose again.

At the recent China International Biobased Technology and Partnering Conference, speakers continued to bemoan the pragmatism that has continued to slow growth in sustainable plastics. Polylactic Acid was specifically cited as being a limiting item, as the low cost of replacement materials such as oil-based polyolefins continued to hinder entry for PLA into many markets.

As we move ever closer to NPE and companies scramble to align their messaging, values, and capabilities, it seems apparent that 2015 is a year that carries with it a great deal of optimism. Global markets are performing admirably, and low raw material costs have taken some pressure off everyone in the plastics industry. Each step of the existing supply chain for petrochemical manufacturing has breathed a sigh of relief.

We are happy to announce that earlier this week, we received official notification that BYLOX HT has been certified to be at least 98% + Biobased in accordance with ASTM D6866 standards. The voluntary biobased labeling system allows Genarex and its partners to qualify BYLOX and BYLOX HT composites based on this biobased designation.

An ever-increasing amount of OEM's are turning to new, creative biobased materials to provide a more sustainable solution to their customers. Bioplastics, bioadditives, and anaerobically compostable materials and their widespread adoption are featured in an exciting recent article by Donald Rosato.

The FTC made a bold move this week to further police the marketing of biodegradable bags, making certain to center it's focus on the manufacturers of oxo-biodegradable bags. Letters have been shipped to 15 plastic waste bag companies (which were not disclosed), warning them that their claims surrounding oxo-biodegradable products may be ruled to be deceptive in the near future.

While we haven't written a blog in several weeks, it certainly isn't for lack of available content. At the risk of being accused of beating a dead horse, the seemingly never-ending volatility inherent to the plastics industry leaves converters and OEM's without options.

According to Plastics News, AEP announced this week that they will be increasing the price of all stretch film by 6% for orders shipping after September 22.