Packaging

Debating late into the night on August 31, the California state senate ultimately narrowly voted against two separate bans that would have had far-reaching effects on the plastics industry in the state, and ultimately across the U.S. A total of seven votes decided the outcome of the proposed plastic bag ban bill, AB 1998, while a bill that would have outlawed BPA in cups and bottles intended for children fell only two votes shy of passage.

The PET recycling story is a success story, with consumers generally very well traned to associate the "1" on the package with the thought, "This plastic can be recycled." Rarely, though, is a PET package "just" PET. Labels, closures, additives, and more can hinder recycling and even create a PR nightmare for brand owners.

Update: The California state senate sent the proposed bag ban to defeat last night by a vote of 20-14, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In the April issue of MPW, our Notable Processors feature included a profile of Leon Farahnik, noting "he started a new company that eventually grew into Hilex-Poly, the world's largest processor of plastic shopping bags, leading the transition from paper to plastic bags at the country's grocery stores." Respectfully taking issue with the verb "leading" is Bob "Bagsy" Siegel.

A plastic package for sending mail-order vitamins and similar products through standard letter post, rather than the more expensive parcel post, has been introduced. The blowmolded HDPE package, with its width-to-depth ratio of more than 4:1, created a significant technical challenge for the processor, RPC Containers.

Vertical grooves and horizontal reinforcing ribs in the corners of a new rigid plastic container are at the heart of an innovative container sidewall strengthening system that has earned U.S. patent No. 7,740,149 B2.

Reynolds Group Holdings Ltd. (Chicago) has acquired consumer and foodservice packaging manufacturer Pactiv Corp. (Lake Forest, IL) for $6 billion in a deal that pays Pactiv shareholders $33.25/share. That price was 39% higher than Pactiv's close of $23.97 on May 14, before talks were disclosed, according to The New Zealand Herald.

With €300 million of capital injected into it, Europe's largest PET supplier, La Seda de Barcelona Group, says it is financially stable and ready to invest, including in its own package processing business unit, Artenius PET Packaging Europe (APPE), the former Amcor Europe PET business.

Products associated with three of the world's most recognizable brand names soon will be packaged into high-density polyethylene based on ethylene derived from sugarcane. Procter & Gamble will introduce the new packaging starting in 2011.

Using two of the industry's largest trade shows as launch pads, the films processing business unit of plastics and chemicals supplier ExxonMobil Chemical next month will introduce two new oriented polypropylene (OPP) film grades for pressure-sensitive label applications. Marketed under the Label-Lyte moniker, the labels are designed to comply with EU directives limiting the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) during manufacture.