Plastics play a big part in how I get away from it all.

For adventure races, I usually need a helmet, paddle, compass, hydration system, synthetic clothing, waterproof map case and whistle. They’re made of expanded polystyrene foam, polycarbonate, polyester, polypropylene, multi-layer polyurethane, nylon, vinyl and probably other plastics as well. I rely on these materials to protect my head while biking, canoeing or zip-lining on fixed ropes, as well as to navigate, stay hydrated on-the-go, keep warm, keep maps intact and signal in an emergency. Plastic bags were even issued in one race so teams could collect invasive plants while out on the race course.

For more of the outdoors, I go backpacking. Components of my tent, backpack and sleeping pads are rip-stop nylon, polyester, high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene and polyurethane foam. I keep some first-aid supplies in a waterproof case made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Mugs, bowls and utensils? Polypropylene, nylon and polycarbonate are options.

These materials have my back out there. Waterproof fabrics keep me dry in downpours and hold up against thorns. My hydration reservoir has been squished but hasn’t burst, and newer versions are guaranteed for life. Anti-microbial treatments help prevent bacteria and fungus from growing inside my new sleeping pad. My nylon utensils can handle temperatures up to 450°F, and synthetic fill sleeping bags have kept me cozy around 0°F.

Other materials have their place, and people accomplished some amazing things before plastics hit the scene. But these days, you can get a backpack with a heat moldable hipbelt for a custom fit, and bowls that pack flat, thanks to plastics. And it’s not all high tech now, either. Ever use a cable tie to make a quick repair?

Leave No Trace principles are important in the outdoors, and manufacturers are minimizing their environmental impact, too. Efforts include recycling polyester base layer clothing (originally made of recycled content) when they wear out, through programs like Common Threads Garment Recycling. I read a review of a sleeping bag that is 99.5% recyclable, with many components made of 100% recycled polyesters. It’s amazing how much post-industrial and post-consumer waste can be used for new products. And thanks to innovative materials and designs, less material is used and gear is lighter and more compact.

From compasses to tents, plastics help me get away from it all. What are some of your favorite innovations or uses for plastic in outdoor gear?

More hours of daylight, temperatures that hit above the 60 degree mark, a few brave flowers trying to poke out of the ground — these wonderful things can only mean that spring is here!

As a kid I enjoyed getting a new spring dress with lots of ruffles and an obnoxiously loud floral print. And I looked forward to my mom (I mean the Easter Bunny) hiding dyed eggs and candy around the house for me to find.

Now, while I certainly still enjoy a new spring dress (with far fewer ruffles) and baskets full of candy, I appreciate spring more for the other benefits it brings. After what is often a long and bleak winter, spring is all about a new, fresh start. All of a sudden, it is brighter and livelier. People have a new bounce to their step. We see growth all around us and feel ready to take on new challenges .

In the spirit of all that is spring-like and new, we can also look ahead to NPE2009 in just a few short months. NPE2009 fully embodies a breath of fresh air, a new beginning and opportunities for growth. One big thing that’s new this time around? Seven conferences and educational programs that are co-locating with NPE for the first time. Together, this will be the most comprehensive education line-up in the global plastics industry, offering rich content to help your business bloom again.

All sessions from all of these conferences have now been added to one educational search feature on the NPE Web site, making it easy to search for the specific topics you need to grow your business. You can search for a particular session by key word, conference, track, speaker or date.

Even better, when you use NPE’s MyShow Plannerand search for a key word, you will not only find the exhibitors relevant to your search, but the educational offerings from all the co-located conferences related to that term. NPE makes it easy to learn about a new technology, product or service in a technical presentation and then see it on the show floor. For example, when I plugged in the word “bioplastics,” I not only saw 15 exhibitors appear in my results, but I also saw that there are currently seven different education sessions specifically on bioplastics in both SPI’s “Business of Plastics” conference and SPE’s ANTEC — two more events co-located at NPE2009. Check it out for yourself with the topics you want to focus on.

I think we are all ready for spring this year, and more importantly: while spring does come once a year, NPE only comes once every three years. Let’s put winter behind us and hop to it!

No, it’s not the humble grocery bag, but rather a new paradigm in drug processing: sophisticated multiple-layer sterile devices known as “bio-process containers” (BPCs) that serve as the centerpiece of techniques used to manufacture bio-therapeutic drugs — drugs that use a person’s natural immune system to treat an illness. 

These bio-process containers are made of plastics. They are converted from medical grade resins and polymer films, and created in multi-layer sizes that range from a deck of cards to a pick-up truck.

Their use? To grow cell cultures in controlled environments which then yield the proteins that are the basis for new drug therapies.

Their biggest asset? These disposable, modular plastic bio-systems dramatically increase flexibility to make process changes quickly and enable manufacturing systems that can be inexpensively and efficiently deployed, not just in traditional drug manufacturing settings, but in critical emergency field applications that require rapid production.

Example of their use? Flu vaccines. There is rapidly mounting evidence that not only are we due for a major, virulent flu pandemic, but that plastic will be needed to create the cure – quickly.

Whenever you receive a flu shot, the caregiver always asks if you have an egg allergy because every dose of flu vaccine is gestated in nature’s own bio-container – the egg. One egg for every one dose of vaccine. This makes for slow production times and is also the reason a flu vaccine costs $20-$25 — they’re capital and labor intensive to produce.

But what if there was an urgent need to produce one million doses of a specific vaccine due to an outbreak of a killer flu? Or, what if, as happened in 1918, a flu spread so rapidly that it led to the death of 50 million people worldwide? If you were a chicken, you would be gainfully employed. If you were a human, you’d be looking for the nearest clinic — but the lines of people waiting would resemble the worst day at the DMV. Forget one million; even producing hundreds of thousands of life-saving vaccines using the traditional egg method would take way too much time in the face of a fast-moving global influenza epidemic.

The processes currently in development are high-yielding relative to egg-based approaches. Disposable manufacturing systems can be used and the high up-front cost of facilities is eliminated. The need to clean/sterilize equipment between batches is eliminated as product-contact surfaces are disposable. The complex, automated facilities required to perform these tasks are avoided, as is the lengthy commissioning and validation of those processes. The result is a facility that can be built for about one fourth of the cost of a traditional one and in half the time.

While we all hope that we never have to face a tragedy similar to 1918, the unfortunate odds are that we will, to some extent, in the next decade. But take heart — there is technology in development that will mitigate illness and mortality, and it will be enabled by a (not-so humble) plastic bag.

(Want to learn more? SPI is advancing the adoption of Single Use process systems through its Bio-Process Systems Alliance.)

If these five things weren’t enough to convince you of the amazing opportunities that NPE2009 has to offer, here are five more cool things:

6. Personal Web Portals for Attendees
NPE2009 has electronic planning tools to help you right-size the show and make the most of your time in Chicago. MyShow Planner allows you to build your own custom route along with a floor plan showing just the exhibitors and educational sessions you are most interested in visiting. When you get to McCormick Place, you’ll be able to use the Map Your Show kiosks (or your laptop) to log in and update your booth-visit and event plans as they change.

7. First RFID Badges at a Plastics Show
At NPE2009, you’ll be wearing a radio frequency identification (RFID) badge that will speed admissions and automate your requests for literature or post-show followup from exhibitors.

8. The Plastics Hall of Fame
Creating a dramatic introduction to NPE2009 for visitors entering the Grand Concourse of McCormick Place, the Plastics Hall of Fame display will highlight the greatest names in plastics, internationally important innovators like John Wesley Hyatt, Leo Baekeland, Roy Plunkett, George Eastman, Dieter Freitag and Georg Menges. The newest group of inductees will be honored at a gala banquet and ceremony on Monday evening of show week. The keynote speech will be given by Mike Ditka, the National Football League personality celebrated as a player, coach and television commentator.

9. New West Building—a Show in Itself
Completed after the last NPE, McCormick West is the most feature-rich building in the McCormick Place exposition center. Its half a million square feet of exhibit space will house Technology Central and many company booths. Another quarter-million square feet is divided among 61 meeting rooms—enough to accommodate the eight or more conference programs taking place during show week, including SPE’s giant ANTEC. And there’s much more to this fabulous building, including Chicago’s largest ballroom, a huge rooftop garden that accommodates 800 people, and extensive amenities and transportation facilities.

10. The New Chicago
This hometown of America’s new president and contending city for the 2016 Summer Olympics has in recent years acquired even more architectural gems, corporate headquarters, and visitor attractions. Millennium Park, completed in 2004, is a 24.5-acre treasury of art, music, architecture and landscape design. By the time NPE2009 takes place, the largest expansion in the history of Chicago’s renowned Art Institute will have been completed, housing modern and contemporary art, photography, architecture, and design—and offering a stunning view of Chicago’s skyline. America’s third-largest city—and longtime home of NPE—offers a wealth of opportunities for shopping, dining, entertainment, sports, and culture.

2009 is an exciting time for the world of bioplastics. Although the bioplastics industry is still in its infancy, it is growing fast. New bioplastics technologies are being developed. New manufacturing facilities are being built. For example, SPI member companies Cereplast and Telles are building new production facilities in Indiana and Iowa respectively. In addition a new group – the SPI Bioplastics Council – has been launched to provide a forum for resin and additive suppliers, as well as processors and equipment suppliers, to advance the development of bioplastics.

In order to address this growing industry, the Bioplastics Council has begun to undertake an ambitious slate of activities in 2009. The Council is busy working on key initiatives including:

• Publication of the first-ever Bioplastics Industry Overview Report.
• Publication of a terminology guide to help clear up confusion over terms such as biobased and biodegradable.
• Organizing, sponsoring and leading a “Business of Bioplastics” educational program on Tuesday, June 23 at NPE2009, at McCormick Place in Chicago.
• Participation in the Emerging Technologies Pavilion at NPE2009.

In addition, last week the Bioplastics Council met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture  (USDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to discuss issues impacting the bioplastics industry. The meetings went extremely well and were a great opportunity to build relationships between leaders of the bioplastics industry and the government agencies working on bioplastics related issues. In fact, both USDA and FTC have agreed to participate at NPE2009. USDA’s Office of Technology Transfer has agreed to anchor the Emerging Technologies Pavilion’s bioplastics quadrant. In addition both the USDA and FTC will present at the “Business of Bioplastics” educational session.  

The Council has opened up its membership and is accepting new member applications. The Council realizes the importance of having a way for companies in the bioplastics industry to work together on common goals and issues.

Needless to say, the Council members are very excited about this upcoming year and so am I. This year will be an exhilarating year for the world of bioplastics.