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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
Click HERE for Monday's quote from H. Ross Perot.
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PLASTIC WASTE: ONE RESPONSE
"It's going to take more than a smattering of bans on single items to cure society of its disposable plastic habit. ... It's time for environmentalists, policy makers, and elected officials to start planning a broader response: phasing out all single-use plastics, not just the most pernicious.
"That's right. All of it."
Los Angeles Times
February 20, 2018
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Today's quote is from an editorial that appeared in the Los Angeles Times earlier this year, February 20 to be specific. On February 22, the paper ran a letter from Steve Russell, who is the vice president of the plastics division at the American Chemistry Council. Mr. Russell made clear in his letter that he and his members share the concern behind the newspaper's call for banning all single-use plastics, but, he argued, their proposed remedy would be counterproductive.
Mr. Russell has expanded that thesis in several blog posts on the website of the American Chemistry Council. Here, for example, he reminds readers what some of those single-use items are. Mr. Russell:
There are good reasons certain products are designed for just one use, many of which center around promoting health and hygiene. Eliminating those products because they are made of plastic would deprive consumers of everyday products we depend on, such as bandages, contact lenses, diapers, and the vast majority of our food packaging. (And that's before we get to the medical necessities, such as IV tubes and sterile packaging for things like syringes, pharmaceuticals, sutures, and gauze.)
Even this very short (introductory) note on plastics and pollution would be incomplete without some reference to the plastic pollution in the ocean. We made ocean singular for a reason. A YouTube clip we watched recently made the point that "In reality, it's just one ocean, with no boundaries." The same clip, we would add, includes a discussion of plastic debris and seabirds. It is is well done, informative, and deeply disturbing. Plastic Ocean is the title of the video, which was produced by the U.N. Environment Programme.
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In this century - and most of the last for that matter - trade has been about a lot more than tariffs, quotas, embargoes, subsidies, and dumping. Indeed, there is very little that, sooner or later, does not get caught up in the net of trade; hence the enormous focus on NTBs or non-tariff barriers. The issue of plastic waste and especially the plastic contamination of the ocean is no exception.
That does not mean, however, that plastic waste is unaffected by things like tariffs and investment calculations. Quite the contrary. The United States, for example, exports (or did export) plastic waste to China. That trade is stalling, however, because, earlier this summer, as part of the tariff contretemps between the United States and China, China levied new 25 percent tariffs on certain waste products from the United States, including plastic scrap.
At the same time and perhaps not entirely coincidentally, Chinese companies are making new recycling investments in the United States. The Zhangzhou Sanlida Environmental Corporation, for example, is opening a subsidiary, Ecomelida, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, that will focus on recycling food and beverage cartons.
Roy Tech Environ, a littler farther west, is the subsidiary of a Shanghai plastic processing firm. They are expanding their operations in Alabama.
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At the end of August, we referenced the 1967 classic movie The Graduate. We did so because Kevin Hassett, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, did. In an upbeat comment about the negotiations with Mexico, he expressed the worry that Dustin Hoffman might show up at the wedding. At this point, it seems appropriate to quote perhaps the film's most famous bit of dialogue. Benjamin, a recent college graduate, is our hero. Mr McGuire is one of his parents' friends. At a party for Benjamin, they have this brief exchange:
MR. McGUIRE: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
BENJAMIN: Yes sir.
MR. McGUIRE: Are you listening?
BENJAMIN: Yes, I am.
MR. McGUIRE: Plastics.
BENJAMIN: Exactly how do you mean?
MR. McGUIRE: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
BENJAMIN: Yes, I will.
Ignoring for the moment the humor in the exchange, Mr. McGuire was preaching the gospel of opportunity to the young Benjamin Braddock. And given the growth of the industry over the years, he was certainly right. Now, however, plastics also represent a challenge. For many, especially many in business, those words have long been interchangeable. That observation is not in any way meant to minimize the seriousness of the challenge of plastic waste. We are simply expressing the hope (and expectation) that it can and will be met.
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Call for a Ban is a link to the LA Times editorial of February 20, 2018, that was the source for today's featured quote.
To the Editor takes you to the above-mentioned letter to the LA Times from Steve Russell of the American Chemistry Council.
Plastic Ocean is a link to the U.N. Environment video mentioned above.
Another Blow is a Portland Tribune story that links China's new tariffs on scrap to an affected Oregon business.
Chinese Recycling in America is a link to a report in Plastics Recycling Update with details on new Chinese facilities in South Carolina and Alabama.
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©2018 The Global Business Dialogue, Inc.
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Tel: (202) 463-5074
R. K. Morris, Editor
Joanne Thornton, Associate Editor
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