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Progress toward the U.N.’s global plastics treaty was detailed today, Nov. 16, during a stock-taking plenary session at the third Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) in Nairobi. Some members reiterated earlier calls to name 2040 as the date to end plastic pollution. The sheer array of topics discussed thus far — ranging from definitions of key plastics terms to global monitoring of progress toward achieving the objectives of the final instrument…

In what they claim is a world first, researchers at Switzerland’s ETH Zürich university have 3D printed a robotic hand with plastic bones, ligaments, and tendons in a single process. Slow-curing thiolene polymers are the secret sauce in this application. 3D-printing technology that uses a laser to scan each polymer layer and compensate for surface imperfections in subsequent layers rather than scraping them away is also instrumental in achieving this milestone.…

Working groups that will negotiate a global plastics treaty were established today, Nov. 14, and began their work at the U.N.’s third session toward forging the agreement, as the opening plenary session spilled over into a second day in Nairobi. The agenda for the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3), which runs through Sunday, was revised to allow the opening-day plenary to continue today from 10 a.m. to…

The third negotiating session on a global treaty to curb plastics pollution began Monday in Nairobi with a stark message. “Nature is suffocating — gasping for breath,” declared Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, executive secretary of the INC Secretariat at the start of Monday’s opening plenary of the third Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3). “All ecosystems, terrestrial and marine, are under threat from plastic pollution. Not only vulnerable and endangered species are at risk,…

The third weeklong round of negotiations to hammer out a global plastics treaty kicked off today in Nairobi, Kenya, after a preparatory meeting Saturday, as the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) seeks to develop a legally binding instrument regulating plastic pollution worldwide. Delegates are pursuing a “comprehensive approach that addresses the full cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal,” according to the U.N.’s website. Working from a “zero…

Phillips-Medisize, a contract manufacturer serving medtech, in vitro diagnostics, and pharma OEMs, has opened a new campus in Katowice, Poland. The 23,000-square-meter ( 247,570-square-foot) facility is the first built from the ground up for Phillips-Medisize, a Molex company, and will serve as a strategic location to facilitate delivery of products to European customers. In addition to medical applications, the plant will process electric vehicle and electrification products for Molex customers.…

The Polyplastics Group, a global supplier of engineering thermoplastics, has introduced an approach for using less heat-resistant plastics for battery electric vehicle (BEV) cooling components. Polyplastics sees strong potential for plastics such as polyacetal (POM) and polypropylene (PP) for the production of EV cooling components. Internal combustion engine (ICE) automobiles use a long-life coolant (LLC) that is primarily made of ethylene glycol. The coolant in engines is typically maintained at…

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited 3M for two willful safety violations and has penalized the company $312,518, the agency announced in a news release dated Nov. 7, 2023. OSHA said it began an investigation of “one of the world’s best-known manufacturing companies” after it reported the death in May 2023 of a 57-year-old employee who had worked at the Prairie du Chien, WI, plant…

Auto shows have been in decline since before the Covid pandemic, and the Tokyo Motor Show was a particularly hard-hit example. By 2019, that show had shrunk in size and relevance, and relocated from its spacious former home at the Makahuri Messe conference center to the smaller Tokyo Big Sight venue. That show featured 192 companies from across the industry. Now, the recast 2023 Japan Mobility Show, also at Tokyo…