Striking Amcor Flexibles workers approve contract, returning to work
About 100 workers walked off the job for two weeks in a dispute with the company over wages.
Maranello Masterpieces: The Legacy of Enzo Ferrari
Ferrari’s famously exotic cars are natural subjects for an exhibit at The Petersen Automotive Museum, so the new exhibit, Maranello Masterpieces: The Legacy of Enzo Ferrari, should provide a treat for museum visitors. The museum introduces the exhibit with this explanation for the mystique of Ferrari and his cars: At the age of 10, Enzo Ferrari attended his first automobile race, the Coppa Florio in Bologna. It had a profound effect…
NASA grant helps UMass student study polymer insulators, heat
Mechanical engineering major Brendan Scott isn’t taking the summer off with other University of Massachusetts Amherst students this year.
Talent Talk: The Fascinating, Frightening Potential of AI
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” – H. L. Mencken I recently received my first proposal from a company that has developed an AI-based service that would write recruiting blogs for me. That one is specifically designed for recruiters. I get six to eight pitches per week, offering to write business development emails to my potential client base on my behalf. This…
EPA: Vinyl chloride risk assessment possible in near future
The Environmental Protection Agency is saying it may launch a risk evaluation of vinyl chloride soon, after environmental and community groups petitioned the agency last month to step up its review of the chemical.
Kenya’s 'Groundbreaking' Plastic Bag Ban Has a Problem
Longtime PlasticsToday contributor Clare Goldsberry would frequently invoke the law of unintended consequences when she got wind of a proposed plastics ban that, in her estimation, was ill conceived. For example, she reported on a ban on single-use plastic shopping bags in Australia in 2019 that led to an uptick in the use of paper bags and plastic trash bags and, consequently, increased greenhouse gas emissions, according to a researcher.…
A Better Approach to Biodegradation of Polymer Waste
There are hundreds of researchers focused on applying biological solutions to plastic waste. Their efforts can be divided into two approaches. The first uses “bugs” — microbes, fungi, and so forth — to eat the plastic, while the second, less-common approach uses biochemicals, specifically enzymes made by “bugs,” to degrade the plastic. (Enzymes are protein-based catalysts that speed up a specific chemical reaction without being consumed in it.) Researchers at UT-Austin…
Resin pricing analysts forecast rough conditions on the way
Markets for polypropylene and polyethylene resins could be facing rough times ahead, according to recent comments from industry analysts.
Report: Berry considering sale of nonwovens business
The company is not commenting, calling the report “speculation.”
Thermoset Resins Set to Play Key Roles in Vehicle Lightweighting
Long perceived to be in decline, thermoset resin molding is being revived by two Japanese companies as a process with ample potential to contribute to lightweighting in electric vehicles (EVs). Injection machine builder Nissei Plastic and development partner Sumitomo Bakelite, a supplier of thermoset resins, held an in-house event at the Nagoya Congress Center on Aug. 2 to 4, 2023, in Aichi Prefecture, showcasing multiple thermoset molding solutions and more to 230 companies…