U.S Plastic Recycling Rates Drop
The United States in 2021 had a recycling rate of about 5 percent for post-consumer plastic waste, down from a high of 9.5 percent in 2014, when the United States exported millions of tons of plas- tic waste to China and counted it as recycled, even though much of it wasn’t, according to a new re- port from Research and Markets. The first problem is that there are thousands of kinds of plastics, each with its own characteristics. They all include different chemical additives and colorants that cannot be recycled together, making it impossible to sort the trillions of pieces of plas- tics into separate types for processing. High-den- sity polyethylene (HDPE#2), polyvinyl chloride (PVC#3), low-density polyethylene (LDPE#4), poly- propylene (PP#5), and polystyrene (PS#6) all must be separated for recycling. Also plastics include toxic additives and absorb chemicals, and are generally collected in curb-side bins filled with possibly dangerous materials such as plastic pesticide containers. Finally, plastic recycling is simply not economical; it costs more to recycle than to make new plastic. Burning or banning plastic might be the only ways to reduce plastic waste. TLMI Announces Calls For Submissions For Print Awards TLMI has announced that the 2022 Print Awards competition is now open for submissions. This year marks the association’s 45th Print Awards Competi- tion and winners will be announced and celebrated at the TLMI Annual Meeting taking place October 16-18 at the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa in Phoe- nix, Arizona. Every year, TLMI converters from across the globe submit hundreds of entries to be considered for the coveted Best in Class and Best in Show honors. The TLMI Print Awards honors the industry’s finest package printing across a range of print process categories including flexography, letterpress, offset, multi-process printing and digital. Non-pressure sensitive categories including un- supported roll labels and cut & stack are also rep- resented. The submission deadline for entries is August, 1 2022. In addition to being honored at the Annual Meeting in October, the Best of Show and Best in Class winners will have professional videos made featuring their submissions. For more information visit: https://tlmi.wufoo. com/forms/2022-print-awards-competition/ .
For the latest, up-to-the minute news in the Flexo Industry — acquisitions, installations, market trends, personnel changes — visit FlexoMarketNews.com EVERY day. On your laptop or mobile device.
www.FlexoMarketNews.com
July 4, 2022 11
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs