August 2023

Researchers at the University of Missouri are using recycled materials including plastic waste in experimental replacements for traditional asphalt pavement. In partnership with the Missouri Department of Transportation, the research team has recently created a real-world test road along a portion of interstate 155 in Southeastern Missouri. A sample of asphalt material ready for testing at the University of Missouri lab.

Systemiq has published a new report on circular packaging and polyester textiles. It is claimed that the findings come at a critical time, coinciding with the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive Implementing Act and the development of the draft PPWR. The study is the second in a series exploring circular economy pathways for PET/polyester in Europe..

Origin Materials Inc. (West Sacramento, Calif.) and Husky Technologies (Bolton, Ont.) announced what they called a milestone in the commercialization of PET incorporating the biobased feedstock FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), which replaces petroleum-based PET component terephthalic acid (PTA), using standard PET equipment to injection mold preforms from PET/F, which were subsequently blowmolded into bottles.

Kraft Heinz Co. will use more recycled plastics in packaging in the years ahead, but the company also is looking at ways to eliminate plastics in certain applications.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries and Sumitomo Electric Industries have joined a joint development partnership between Sumitomo Riko and LanzaTech Global to develop recycling technologies that support a circular economy. Sumitomo Riko formed a joint development agreement with LanzaTech Global, a USA-based carbon recycling firm, in November 2022.

“Not including PVC is a missed opportunity. Post-consumer recycled PVC is already being used successfully in drain, waste, and vent piping,” said VI spokeswoman Susan Wade.

Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of consumer products company SC Johnson, has an idea of what it will take to meet recycling goals, and it’s not the approach that some in the plastics industry prefer.

The news that 3M Corp. will exit the production and sale of all PFAS-containing products by the end of 2025 is the most tangible impact to date on the rubber and plastic industry as the regulatory war on the “forever chemicals” marches forward.

Dow Chemical Company has partnered with Mengniu, one of the largest dairy companies in China, to launch an all-polyethylene yogurt pouch designed for recyclability. The product is Mengniu’s first all-PE yogurt pouch designed for recyclability.

Alba Group, the Germany-based materials, recycling and environmental services company is spending almost 55 million euros ($60million), to help stop millions of tons of plastic waste from entering the waterways in Indonesia with a PET processing facility in Central Java.

The Malay Mail

The government plans to boost the country’s latex production by 30 per cent to 40,000 tonnes annually to help meet the demand of the rubber-based downstream sector, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said. Fadillah, who is also Plantation and Commodities Minister, said the government has already introduced the Latex Production Incentive (IPL) which is under the Malaysian Rubber Board’s supervision.

Tons of plastic waste are disposed of daily, and most people don’t mind, don’t care, or don’t know about it until they see inorganic matter washing up on our shores or floating in our flooded houses come typhoon season. Plastic bags, bottles, food wrappers, and containers are part of our daily lives. We throw them in the trash, unmindful of where they go.

THE PHILIPPINE Environment department would prioritize solid waste management under a €60-million (P3.6 billion) green economy program of the European Union (EU). The agency seeks to harness the potential of a 2022 law that requires big companies to recover their plastic waste, Environment Secretary Maria Yulo-Loyzaga told a news briefing on Wednesday. “The mitigation aspect in terms of the green economy program in the Philippines really comes from the management of our solid waste,” she said.

Hailide New Material, a Chinese manufacturer of tire cord fabric which counts Michelin, Bridgestone, and Continental as some of its clients, intends to invest USD52 million in kicking off a new facility in southern Vietnam to minimize any adverse effects of trade frictions.

Chairman of Vietnam Rubber Association Tran Ngoc Thuan and his Lao counterpart Bounthong Buahom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on boosting the sustainable development of the rubber industry in the two countries. Accordingly, the two associations will share experiences and support Vietnamese rubber companies that are operating in Laos to become qualified for sustainable development certifications.

Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA) reported that approximately 50,000 tonnes of Myanmar’s rubber were exported to foreign countries […].

A variety of factors are behind the decline in the rubber industry in Indonesia, which might be left playing catch-up as the global demand for the commodity drives downstream expansion.

Myanmar’s rubber is underpriced in the global market owing to inferior quality that does not meet international standards, according to […].