Yesterday in Washington, D.C., Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) announced they had reached what is being termed a groundbreaking agreement to revamp the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Indeed, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013 (CSIA) that they have introduced in the Senate is groundbreaking in several ways.

Despite widespread agreement that TSCA was not an effective solution to the testing of tens of thousands of chemicals found in consumer and industrial products, the Senate had been deadlocked for roughly the last two decades on how to test and regulate them.

Not only does the CSIA look ready to break that gridlock, it comes with significant bipartisan support, which everyone knows is very difficult to obtain for anything in today’s political climate. Besides Senators Lautenberg and Vitter, there are 14 other Senators co-sponsoring the Act, seven Republicans and seven Democrats. All told there are eight Senators from each side of the aisle sponsoring this long-needed reform.

Add to that the reaction from the business sectors that stand to be most impacted by the proposed Act, which has been broadly and strongly positive. William R. Carteaux, President and CEO of SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association issued the following statement regarding the introduction of this legislation:

U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA; center), is shown with Jon Kurrle (left), SPI Senior VP, Government & Industry Affairs, and Bill Carteaux, SPI President & CEO during the Plastics Hall of Fame event at NPE2012, SPI’s triennial trade show and conference held in Orlando, FL.

“On behalf of SPI members and the entire U.S. plastics industry, I want to thank Senators Lautenberg and Vitter, as well as the other cosponsors, for the leadership and determination they have displayed in crafting a groundbreaking, bipartisan bill.  The legislation is a true milestone, and shows that the charged political environment inside the beltway need not take a back seat to consensus building.

“SPI has long advocated TSCA updates that embrace 21st century scientific and technological advances, while enhancing the ability of the U.S. plastics industry to develop and utilize essential materials.  The Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013 encompasses a broad spectrum of stakeholder viewpoints, and I am hopeful that its introduction will usher in a new era of cooperation in the collective pursuit of TSCA modernization.”

Cal Dooley, President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) was equally positive in his statement: “The business of chemistry creates the building blocks for 96 percent of all manufactured goods and is a key driver of the U.S. economy. Reforming TSCA in a way that supports safety, jobs and innovation is important for American consumers, U.S. chemical producers and American businesses of all kinds, as well as their workers. These principles are at the foundation of the CSIA.”

The co-sponsors of Lautenberg-Vitter “Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013″ include U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Charles Schumer (D-NY), James Inhofe (R-OK), Tom Udall (D-NM), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Boozman (R-AR), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and John Hoeven (R-ND).

A tip of the hat to Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), for the article he published on November 28 in Roll Call adknowledging how the U.S. Capitol recently showed leadership in boosting the waste-to-energy process. On November 1^st, the Capitol campus began sending as much as 90 percent of its non-recycled solid waste to Covanta Energy’s waste-to-energy facility across the Potomac River in Alexandria, VA.

Non-recyclable trash from the U.S. Capitol now goes to a waste-to-fuel plant, not into a landfill.

Before the decision to do that by the Architect of the Capitol in collaboration with the House Administration Committee, the fuel traditionally referred to as waste had gone to landfills. Dooley noted that in 2010 more than 5300 tons of non-recycled waste was taken from the Congressional facilities, but instead of being buried the Capitol trash now will create enough energy to power a House of Representatives office building for several months. (Having recently been in one of those buildings on behalf of members of SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, I can testify that those buildings are very large.

Plastics of various types are, of course, part of the Capitol trash. SPI and Dooley’s ACC have long made clear that although recycling plastics is always preferable, when energy can be recaptured from trash that will not be recycled, burying it makes no sense. The energy value of plastics is greater than that of coal, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prefers waste-to-energy over landfills.

Dooley quotes an EPA finding that waste-to-energy makes electricity “with less environmental impact than almost any other source of electricity.” He then helpfully adds, “Yes, you read that right.” He must have been reading my mind.

Many SPI staff members have detailed the merits of waste-to-energy on this blog, for example here, here, and here. In

The Covanta Energy waste-to-fuel facility in Alexandria, VA

addition, the SPI website contains many articles spelling out the technology’s superiority to burying fuel in a landfill. Lately waste-to-energy is getting longer legs.

In a recent interview, Greg Wilkinson, president and CEO of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), who clearly favors turning waste to energy, was equally clear that the general public has a mindset problem: We think of this trash as waste that we need to hide or bury, so we hide or bury it.

I’m sure that SPI President/CEO Bill Carteaux could only guess at how many times he has spoken to business and industry groups in favor of waste-to-energy rather than waste-to-landfill. That has been the policy of SPI for some time, and likewise for ACC.

Lacking a statistical survey, I’ll estimate that waste-to-energy makes sense to nearly everyone in the plastics industry. It should make sense to everyone in the U.S. but it doesn’t. Some are concerned about environmental impact, regardless of the EPA statement above. Others take the NIMBY position – not in my back yard.

Those two factors could explain why Western Europe, with a population slightly larger than the U.S., has over 400 waste-to-energy plants, and more in the planning stages, while the U.S. has only 86. But to me the mindset problem Greg Wilkinson described is even more fundamental. So then, a quick rethink: That stuff’s not waste, it’s fuel. Pass it on.

Bill Carteaux, president of SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, and Jon Kurrle, SPI’s VP for government and industry affairs, were members of a group of business leaders addressed by President Barack Obama directly following the President’s signing of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. The SPI presence at the White House on October 21, 2011 was well deserved, and it should not have been a surprise when Obama mentioned “plastic manufacturers” in his remarks to the group.

SPI president (foreground) Bill Carteaux with President Obama following the signing of Free Trade Agreements with Panama, South Korea, and Colombia.

Carteaux said prior to the signing that he was honored to be invited to the White House to celebrate the three Free Trade Agreements because, “SPI’s advocacy team [headed up by Kurrle] aided by our dedicated members, worked countless hours and made, literally, hundreds of Capitol Hill visits in support of these agreements.”

I was invited to take part in four of those visits during SPI’s recent Fall Board Conference. On the afternoon of the Conference’s first day, October 5, 2011, SPI members met with many House  and Senate members and their staffers, the sessions pre-arranged by Kurrle’s team at SPI. We were well briefed by the SPI team before the meetings so that we all could advocate for the plastic industry’s key issues, one of them being passage of the Free Trade Agreements.

Two weeks later, the FTAs with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea were signed, and that is what advocacy is all about. Speaking privately with several SPI members during the conference, and hearing others during the meetings with House members, the message was clear from them: The FTAs are good for their businesses.

Does anyone in America think the USA does not need more exports? If you do think actually balancing our balance of trade, or at least coming close to balancing it, is not vital to our economy, it’s beyond my range of understanding.

And speaking of exports, South Korea is currently the 10th largest export market for U.S. plastics, with resin-related exports to that country jumping 44% since 2000. Colombia is the 16th largest export market for U.S. plastics, and since 2000 U.S. plastics exports to that country have increased by 163%. SPI noted that although Panama is not currently a top market for the U.S. plastics industry, it has shown tremendous growth potential. Since 2000, plastics exports to Panama have jumped by 107%. SPI members at the Fall Board Conference were very positive about the FTAs.

Jon Kurrle (left, back to camera), SPI's VP for government and industry affairs, regularly meets government officials, and this time it's President Obama.

I’m not sure all SPI members realize just how much is being done by the Association in the way of public policy and advocacy. In my short time with SPI I’ve been seeing a high level of ongoing activity — hourly, daily, weekly — at a high level of professionalism. Example: I and the many other SPI members and staff going to meet members of Congress each were given personalized info packets prepared by Kurrle’s team. They contained our scheduled meetings, background info on the issues, information about the official we were meeting, and more. Clearly, a lot of hard work went into preparing those kits, and an excellent job it was.

SPI pursues a significant number of significant policy issues concurrently. To appreciate the range of public policy issues SPI works with look here. When you do, if you’re an SPI member, please think about getting involved. If I can talk to members of Congress on behalf of the plastics industry, so can you. FYI, they listened; they asked good questions; and if passing the FTAs is any indication, they took action on your behalf. Thanks to SPI’s work, even the President gave us a shout-out. And if you’re in the U.S. plastics industry but not an SPI member, the door is open and you are welcome.



Recently I had an outstanding opportunity to meet with key leaders of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD.  NIST, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, was founded in 1901 as the nation’s first federal physical science research laboratory. Over the years, the scientists and technical staff at NIST have made major contributions to image processing, DNA diagnostic “chips,” smoke detectors, atomic clocks, X-ray standards for mammography, and pollution-control technology. The individuals I met with are some of the brightest scientists in the U.S.

The meeting was coordinated by key individuals in NIST’s Polymers Division which is the largest organization within NIST specifically serving SPI members and the overall plastics industry. I talked with NIST about the major role that the plastics industry plays as the third largest manufacturing sector in the U.S., work that NIST is undertaking specific to plastics, and opportunities for SPI and its members to work more closely with NIST. I was amazed at the range of projects that NIST undertakes – from cutting edge scientific research to programs specifically geared to help grow U.S. manufacturing.  So plastics industry professionals, are you aware of all that NIST offers you? Take a look at these examples:

Programs Established for Joint Industry/Government Partnerships

• As I’ve blogged about previously, the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a nationwide network of centers to assist small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers to help them create and retain jobs, increase profits, and save time and money. The nationwide network provides a variety of services, from innovation strategies to process improvements to green manufacturing. MEP also works with partners at the state and federal levels on programs that put manufacturers in position to develop new customers, expand into new markets and create new products.  
• The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) is a grant program where NIST and industry partners cost share the early-stage development of innovative but high-risk technologies.  On the horizon and pending approval of the FY 2012 budget, TIP expects to hold funding competitions in one or more of the following research areas: manufacturing, advanced robotics and intelligent automation, civil infrastructure, energy, healthcare, water.  SPI will keep its members posted when the competition is announced.

User Facilities Open to Industry

• NIST’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) performs research in nanotechnology, both through internal research efforts and by running a user-accessible cleanroom nanomanufacturing facility. This ‘NanoFab’ is equipped with tools for lithographic patterning and imaging (e.g. electron microscopes and atomic force microscopes).  The CNST’s shared-use NanoFab gives researchers economical access to and training on a state-of-the-art tool set required for cutting-edge nanotechnology development. The simple application process is designed to get projects started in a few weeks.
• The neutron science user facility called the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) provides scientists access to a variety of neutron scattering instruments, which are used in many fields of research (materials science, fuel cells, biotechnology, etc.).  This type of equipment, is crucial to fully understanding industrial commodity and specialty polymers to better understand structure, dynamics and other properties.  Some SPI members have tapped into the NCNR, but many more opportunities still exist.

Measurements and Standards

How are you sure that your company is measuring melt flow rate correctly?  Or how do you know you have the right molecular weight calibration for a polymer?  NIST can help you out here.  As part of its mission, NIST supplies industry, academia, government, and other users with over 1,300 Standard Reference Materials (SRMs). These artifacts are certified as having specific characteristics or component content, used as calibration standards for measuring equipment and procedures, quality control benchmarks for industrial processes, and experimental control samples.  So if you want to make sure you are measuring certain properties the right way, tap into NIST’s resources. Also, don’t forget about the Material Measurement Laboratory, whose activities range from fundamental and applied research on the composition, structure and properties of industrial, biological and environmental materials and processes to the development of best practice guides that help assure measurement quality. 

NIST has a number of other plastics related groups such as the Polymeric Materials Group (which develops and implements methodologies and metrologies for determining the scientific origins of materials degradation required for predicting the service life of polymeric materials, components, and systems exposed in their intended or accelerated exposure environments), the Sustainable Composites Project (focused on the development of tools to measure the fundamental structure-processing and structure -property relations associated with sustainable polymer composites), and much more. 

My meetings were just the beginning steps in growing the relationship between SPI and NIST.  SPI wants to ensure that the plastics industry doesn’t miss out on great opportunities to work with some of the world’s brightest scientists to advance the industry.

I’m ashamed to admit it, but for five years in the early 90s, I was a manufacturing lobbyist who had never stepped foot inside of a manufacturing plant.  I was 25 years old, lobbying tax and budget issues and I thought I was pretty sharp.  To make matters worse, in many instances I was lobbying members of Congress and Hill staffers who had also never been inside a plant … talk about the blind leading the blind.

 It wasn’t until years later when I had my first of many plant tours,  that I realized how little I really knew about the people and the processes that I was representing and the disservice that I was doing to my association’s members.  The unfortunate truth is that too many members of Congress and agency staff that are responsible for regulations and legislation affecting our companies, are guilty of this same ignorance.  Sure, they’re smart people, they read newspapers and many have been to law school.  Like I did, they probably think they know everything they need to know about manufacturing.  But, they don’t. 

Last week, I visited two Berry Plastics facilities – in Baltimore (pictured in the photo above) and Hanover, Md. — and was reminded of how important it is to show, and not just tell, our elected representatives about what we do and how we do it.   I had forgotten about the impressive and innovative technologies that allow companies like Berry to stay competitive.  High tech manufacturing isn’t just in Palo Alto anymore — it is the norm in American manufacturing.  I saw, firsthand, the importance that this company places on employee safety and investments that they have made in recycling scrap –not just to be green, but to reclaim a valuable resource.  Finally, I witnessed the tremendous pride of the Berry employees in their plant and the products they produce.  In the coming months, Berry’s Hanover plant will be making $30 million worth of investments in equipment, hiring several dozen new employees and ensuring steady and satisfying work for the 145 employees who already work there. 

Can you imagine making an important business decision without understanding all of the implications?  Members of Congress will be in their home districts in August and for several weeks in the fall.  Let’s make an effort to bring them into our plants and show them our pride.  Seeing is believing.  Check out this photo – and this one and one more – of  elected representatives who have recently visited the plants of SPI member companies  

Be a Plastics Champion and “Take Action for Plastics” by hosting an elected official on a plant tour of your company’s facility. SPI can help make the arrangements and provide you with solid “how-to” information.  Get started — for more information on  SPI grassroots programs, email grassroots@plasticsindustry.org.