I think you should read a very informative online article about a recent

event in the ongoing activist attacks on Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in a few plastics, including the epoxy liners of food cans that prevent botulism and spoilage. It’s an enlightening, easy to understand piece of scientific journalism with sharp insights on the chemiphobic and/or plastiphobic activists.

The article is on the Forbes website, the author is Jon Entine, and the title is “Bisphenol A (BPA) Found Not Harmful, Yet Again — So Why Did So Many Reporters and NGOs Botch Coverage, Yet Again?” In it, Entine, a senior fellow at the Center for Health & Risk Communication at George Mason University, describes how a press release from the University of California titled “BPA’s Real Threat May Be After It Has Metabolized” about a recent BPA study quickly turned into articles on numerous websites, including those of well-known news sources and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Many of the NGOs and journalists are anti-BPA activists that have been on the attack BPA for years, so the press release headline likely caused them to think the new study may be what they need to finally bring about the banning of the chemical. The articles they quickly published carried headlines such as “BPA is Bad to the Bone, Now We Know Why,” and “New studies add fuel to concerns over BPA.” Some reprinted the press release verbatim.

But there was a catch. As Entine writes, the “…study, when analyzed, does not support that view. Rather, it provides additional confirmation of the unlikelihood that BPA or many other so-called “endocrine disrupting” chemicals pose serious health threats.” The catch is in the words “when analyzed.” Since the NGOs and activist journalists were predisposed to believe BPA was bad—despite more than a dozen reviews of BPA by independent government scientists since 2007 that concluded the current uses of the chemical are safe—it appears they did not examine the study, instead going solely with the misleading press release.

With the study’s erroneous rise to prominence as his starting point, Entine goes on to provide a broad commentary on the chemophobia-driven, crusade against BPA. He even provides clear information on how BPA is processed and disposed of by the human body. The article is a compact education about BPA and the anti-BPA crusade. Sadly, it’s wasted on those who need it most.

There is little reason to think the NGOs, labs, websites and others

with vested interests in advocating against BPA will read, let alone accept, the facts Jon Entine presents. Besides being prisoners of their ingrained beliefs, their continuing livelihoods require not accepting such facts. Evidence of that is apparent in the reader comments on Entine’s article. Many commenters make it clear by what they write that they are true believers, largely ignoring or denying the facts. To his credit, Entine patiently—for the most part—responds specifically to each comment. It’s an enlightening dialog with the chemiphobic and plastiphobic.

If you want to better understand the continuing anti-BPA activism, and like your information factual and brilliantly presented, Entine’s article and his responses to the comments are well worth your time. The information here just scratches the surface.

A Packaging Digest article about a new report by GBI Research says that the growing economies of the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China—will make them the dominant growth agents for flexible PET packaging materials between now and

2020.

The report notes that the Asia-Pacific region, which already made up 40.6% of global PET demand in 2010, should reach 47.8% of the total market by 2020.

China, not surprisingly, is expected to be the global flexible PET packaging market leader by 2010, and the report notes that major new PET production capacity has already been built in China, and that major PET resin producers are still focusing much attention there. Significant capacity additions also are in the forecast for Russia, Brazil, and India.

The GBI Research report says that food, CSD, and beer packages will be the key applications for growth in flexible PET packaging, and will be helped along by demands from major retailers for better product protection and longer shelf life.

There are more stats, plus the market factors behind them, in the Packaging Digest article here, and details on the now-available full GBI Research report “PET Global Market to 2020” can be found here.

Beverage maker Honest Tea (Gaithersburg, MD), along with with a group of other organizations, is supporting New York City’s pledge to double its recycling efforts by 2017. Kick-off on April 30^thwill feature a 30-foot tall recycling bin in Times Square. The goal is to crowd-source at least 45,000 plastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers in ten hours, with a payoff for those who bring in their bottles and cans.

A 30-ft. tall recycling bin will be in Times Square on April 30th, when The Great Recycle takes aim at doubling the Big Apple's recycling rate.

Those participating in The Great Recycle will get points for each bottle brought in, which can be redeemed at the onsite TRASHed Recycling store for goodies like t-shirts, reusable bags, jeans, video games, sporting events, concerts, and Broadway show tickets, and cold bottles of Honest Tea. (Full disclosure: I like their stuff.)

The other sponsoring organizations include GrowNYC, Recyclebank, Coca-Cola Live Positively, Global Inheritance, and Five-Boro Green Services. “The goal to double the waste diversion rate includes initiatives like expanding access to recycling in public spaces, and other initiatives that will make it even easier to do the right thing. This is just one component of the Mayor’s efforts to make New York City one of the greenest, most livable cities,” says David Hurd, Director of Recycling Outreach & Education for GrowNYC.

Honest Tea and Graham Packaging cut PET package weight by 22%.

“Honest Tea is committed to finding ways to help Americans recycle more” says Seth Goldman, Honest Tea co-founder and TeaEO. We’ve helped install recycling bins in our hometown of Bethesda, MD and now it’s time to expand our efforts.” Honest Tea also has optimized its packaging, not only for recycling but also for the “reduce” aspect of the Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It uses both PET and glass bottles, and plastic pouches for the kids drinks in its product lines.

For example, in late 2009 Honest Tea’s PET bottle lost 22% of its weight through close cooperation with supplier Graham Packaging (York, PA). On its website, the company explains to its customers why the change reducing total packaging is a good thing. Previously, Honest Tea put 7.2 lb. of liquid in every pound of packaging material. After the change, one pound of packaging held 12.8 lb. of liquid, a 77.25% improvement.

April 30 is a Monday this year, and what better way to start a week and finish a month than good-for-us-all recycling. So tote your bottles and cans over to The Great Recycle in Times Square, and remember to collect your credits and pick up some swag.

Ideas for how to reuse everyday plastic objects, especially packaging, just keep on coming, but this one from Argentina is a standout.

Nube lamps transform reclaimed plastic bags into practical art.

The Nube lamps made by the company Chorch appear to be attractive modern art, while also being a source of soft, relaxing light. But you could call them practical art, too, since each lamp is made from 10 to 100 reclaimed plastic bags, depending on the size of the lamp.

The Chorch website notes that the concepts of recycle, reuse, green technology, and sustainability have become part of our everyday life. Accordingly, the Nube lights, part of Chorch’s Transforma Series, take reclaimed materials without aesthetic value and transform them into the raw material of objects with great personality.

Chorch’s goal is to reduce raw material consumption and minimize waste by creating a new object from reclaimed materials while maintaining aesthetic value. The Nube lamps, which were featured in the Designboom Mart at last month’s Stockholm Furniture Fair in Sweden, succeed at doing just that. The designer’s goal for the lamps themselves is to create an atmosphere of relaxation.

Nube lamps, available in table, floor, and hanging models of different sizes, are made by hand, with the plastic bags joined together one by one to create a unique texture and shape. Chorch uses sustainable production methods that produce no waste. The lamps are designed to use compact fluorescent bulbs and are packaged in shipping containers made from recycled cardboard and plastic, further reducing the environmental impact.

The Flexible Packaging Association(FPA) has given an FPA 2012 Achievement Award to plastic bag maker and recycler Hilex Poly Co. of Hartsville, SC for implementing Hilex’s Bag-2-Bag closed-loop recycling program with Kroger Company’s supermarkets.

Hilex Poly's Bag-2-Bag product line has won a Flexible Packaging Association Award for Sustainability and Environmental Achievement for its use by Kroger supermarkets.

The majority of the FPA awards honor a specific package, focusing on its printing, design, technical achievement or overall excellence. Hilex Poly’s award, however, is specifically for sustainability and environmental achievement, with the reasons clearly noted. Compared to conventional bags, the Bag-2-Bag requires 20 percent less energy to produce, lowers carbon emissions by 11 percent, diverts millions of pounds from landfills each year, and provides sustainability-conscious consumers a closed loop carryout package.

The retail bags are made using material recycled from plastic bags and other film that shoppers drop into Hilex Poly containers at retail stores such as Kroger’s. It has become very easy for consumers to recycle their bags properly thanks to the closed loop system set up by Hilex Poly.

Hilex Poly is a founding member of Progressive Bag Affiliates, which defends plastic bags and promotes recycling of all plastics film, including bags, and that as of January 1, 2012 has transitioned from the American Chemistry Council to SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, where it will be known as the American Progressive Bag Alliance (ABPA).

With over 30,000 collection points across the country, mostly at retail stores such as Kroger’s supermarkets, Hilex Poly collects many plastic film products, which in turn are recycle into new bags, and into decking, piping, and playground equipment. As consumers have discovered the ease of using this system, Hilex’s recycling volume has increased by 50% over the last five years. Having invested tens of millions of dollars into its recycling facilities, Hilex Poly was able to recycle more than 20 million pounds of plastic film in last year.