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OCTOBER 2021 REMOTE DEVICES IMPROVE MEDICAL CARE RECYCLED HDPE ABSORBS OIL SPILLS Treated microplastics minimize water pollution and boost recycling PLUSINSIDE PLASTICS ENGINEERING VOLUME 77 NUMBER 9 OCTOBER 2021 14 Medical PERFECT ALIGNMENT 3DP composite surgical aiming arm is made with greater properties and at less cost than aluminum alloy or composite block. Medical BRING IT HOME Growing sophistication of remote monitoring devices frees patients and doctors from centralized check-ups. 20 26 GET YOUR OWN! Plastics Engineering keeps plastics industry professionals informed of the latest news and in-depth reporting on state-of-the-art and emerging technologies that impact the R&D and processing of plastics products. This is the magazine every plastics industry professional NEEDS to read. 4spe.org/Subscribe 4 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Predictive healthcare via point-of-care diagnostics will reshape medicine by improving outcomes and slashing healthcare costs. www.plasticsengineering.org | OCTOBER 2021 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 130 | Infographic EVERYTHING’S ACES Evolving electric vehicles will feature new generations of software architecture for optimum performance. 5 | Feedback Reader wants new approach to recycling issue. 12 | Data Points Reshoring forecast suggests a record-setting 2021 in job creation. 13 | Medical Spotlight DO NO HARM Plastics are producing ever-smaller devices including implantables that monitor and even forecast a patient’s condition, allowing users to maintain their well-being and quality of life. 47 | Calendar 32 | As I See It A CIRCLE OF LIFE Greg DeKunder of NOVA Chemicals sees a circular future for plastics. 48 | Ad/Editorial Index INSIDE PLASTICS ENGINEERING VOLUME 77 NUMBER 9 OCTOBER 2021 42 | New Product News 30 8 | Set Point NSF funds multimaterial 3DP study; polymer demand surges in EVs; Greenpeace lawsuit against single-serve plastics voided. 36 | Editor’s Choice PLASTICS WASTE TO THE RESCUE Researchers in Brazil show that HDPE scrap is an effective sorbent for crude oil spills in water as well as a viable way of recycling retail bags. 36 40 | SPE News 2 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | OCTOBER 2021 | www.plasticsengineering.orgPatrick Toensmeier Editor-in-Chief (203) 777-1474 ptoensmeier@4spe.org Michael Greskiewicz Director, Sales & Advertising (203) 740-5411 mgreskiewicz@4spe.org Ryan Foster Art Director (203) 740-5410 rfoster@4spe.org Sue Wojnicki Director of Communications (203) 740-5420 swojnicki@4spe.org Editorial & Publishing Staff President Jason Lyons CEO Patrick Farrey President-Elect Bruce Mulholland Vice President – Chapters & Secretary ScottEastman Vice President – Business & Finance / Treasurer James Waddell Vice President – Professional Development Pavan Valavala Vice President – Sustainability Conor Carlin Vice President – Member Engagement Lynzie Nebel Vice President – Publications Raymond Pearson Vice President at Large Paul Martin Past President Jaime Gómez SPE 2021-2022 Executive Board Contributing Editors NANCY D. LAMONTAGNE ndlamontagne@gmail.com Nancy D. Lamontagne reports on science, technology and engineering. Topics she covers for Plastics Engineering include thermoforming, blow molding, medical plastics, packaging, and education and career development. ROBERT GRACE bob@rcgrace.com Robert Grace has been in B2B journalism since 1980. He covers design and business for Plastics Engineering and is editor of SPE’s Journal of Blow Molding. Professional memberships include the Industrial Designers Society of America. JENNIFER MARKARIAN technicalwritingsolutions@comcast.net Jennifer Markarian focuses on technology. A chemical engineer, she began her career in product development with Mobil Chemical’s polyethylene group. She is also newsletter editor for SPE’s Palisades-New Jersey Section. MATT BECHTEL mjb@matt-bechtel.com MattBechtel has been covering product and technology developments for Plastics Engineering, along with regulatory issues that affect materials suppliers, converters and brand owners. www.plasticsengineering.org | OCTOBER 2021 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 3 PEGGY MALNATI peggy@malnatiandassociates.com Peggy Malnati has over 30 years’ experience covering plastics, composites and automotive. She has organized technical conferences for SPE and served as board member and communications chair for SPE’s Automotive Division. GEOFF GIORDANO geoffgio@verizon.net Geoff Giordano has been a contributor to Plastics Engineering since 2009, covering a range of topics, including additives, infrastructure, flexible electronics, design software, 3D printing and nanotechnology. FROM THE F ew students can afford to go to college entirely on their own. Most rely on scholarships, grants, student loans and of course, personal and family savings. Once enrolled, many have to find jobs, either in work-study programs or with private employers in local communities, to make ends meet. The time spent on these jobs can approach or even exceed 40 hours per week. When added to the academic demands of college, it’s quite a burden to manage. Extra funds are a big help. Which is why the scholarships provided annually by the SPE Foundation to undergrad and graduate students in plastics and related studies are so important. In August, the SPE Foundation announced through its online application portal that it is awarding 83 scholarships to 50 students in 2021 totaling $190,350. This is due entirely to donations from individuals, companies, SPE’s technical and geographical chapters, and from organizations such as the Western Plastics Pioneers and the Plastics Pioneers Association. The generosity of these donors, who believe in the value of this program and its potential to help produce future industry leaders, is allowing the SPE Foundation to award seven more scholarships this year than in 2020. That’s seven more students who also might help shape the future and fortunes of the plastics industry. All the recipients are at schools that have a solid reputation of achievement in plastics and related degree programs. Think Akron, Rutgers, Ferris State, Penn State Behrend and UMass Lowell, among others. Their majors or graduate work include such disciplines as polymer/plastics engineering, composites, materials science and chemical engineering, as well as mechanical and aerospace engineering, macromolecular science and engineering, packaging science and automotive engineering. One winner is a junior majoring in communications who is the recipient of the first Bill Bregar Memorial Scholarship, in honor of the long-time industry journalist who died in 2020. The award, sponsored by Crain Communications, is for students who want to write about plastics or manufacturing. The scholarship recipients are smart, accomplished and deserving. They also represent a diverse cross-section of people whose backgrounds, experiences and perspectives will help shape the industry’s growth and ideally inspire more young people to develop an interest in STEM subjects and plastics. The scholarship program speaks to the highest ideals of SPE and to the people who work tirelessly to make it happen. SPE has a large corps of volunteers who give their time and talents to worthy causes, among them acting as mentors to those new to the industry or reading applications and judging who will receive scholarships. All of them, when asked why they invest so much time in such efforts, make the same point: they want to give back to the industry and repay everyone who helped them when they first started working in plastics. This is an inspiring example of the power that volunteerism has on individuals. Donating time to worthy causes and seeing how one’s efforts make a difference in the lives of people is a tonic that’s good for personal health and for the soul. People have understood this for millennia. From Ancient Rome comes the phrase “You give twice if you give quickly.” And the Bible advises that all should, according to their hearts, give, but “not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.” So, give, and be of good cheer. And if readers would like to help further the goals of the SPE Foundation, the group can be contacted at foundation@4spe.org. Applications for the 2022 scholarships, meanwhile, will be accepted from Dec. 1, 2021, to Apr. 1, 2022, at www.spescholarships.org. PAT TOENSMEIER Editor-in-Chief ptoensmeier@4spe.org GIVE, AND BE OF GOOD CHEER 4 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | OCTOBER 2021 | www.plasticsengineering.orgFEEDBACK To the Editor: I was dismayed by your Plastics Engineering Editor’s Letter (July/August, p. 4) that argued that plastics pollution is “entirely a people problem.” Speaking from the platform of five decades in the plastics recycling industry, I have direct familiarity with consumer product companies, in particular the beverage industry, which was actively working against the passage of government programs, such as bottle deposit bills, that would inhibit plastics pollution. Their argument then, as you restated now, is that this is a people problem that can be solved by educating the consumer. After all these years the problem is worse than ever. Obviously, this “education” approach is not working. Thirty years ago, plastics pollution seemed to be an American phenomenon. Because of the undeniable benefits of plastics, most notably in packaging, our industry has grown exponentially and pollution from single-use products has grown to be a worldwide problem. As before, the plastics industry is playing defense, by making commitments to purchase recycled resins. However, it may be too little and too late to halt the anti- plastics movement if we continue to categorize this plastics pollution scourge as a “people problem.” The fact of the matter is that this is a plastics industry problem, which includes the plastics product manufacturers, LETTERS, COMMENTS, OPINIONS (PRO AND CON) AND INSIGHTS FROM READERS Continued on p. 6 George Staniulis STRUKTOL COMPANY OF AMERICA, LLC | Stow, Ohio | USA 330.928.5188 | CustomerService@struktol.com | www.struktol.com ENGINEERED TO IMPROVE PROCESS AND PRODUCT PERFORMANCE THROUGHOUT AN EXTENSIVE ARRAY OF INDUSTRIES. > Activators > Dispersants > Homogenizers > Lubricants > Metal Stearates > Montan Ester Wax Alternatives > Odor Control > Peptizers > Plasticizers > Polyethylene Waxes > Processing Agents > Silane Coupling Agents > Slip Agents (Amides) > Tackifiers > Viscosity Modifiers We’ve Got You Covered SPECIALTY ADDITIVES FOR THE POLYMER INDUSTRY www.plasticsengineering.org | OCTOBER 2021 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 5Pat Toensmeier answers (italicized copy in bold indicates further observations by George Staniulis). Dear Mr. Staniulis, I agree that the plastics industry has been playing defense for too long with its efforts to address the concerns of anti-plastics regulators and activists. And maybe the effort to use more recyclables in products will prove to be a bust. GS: I don’t think so.... In fact, there is a fast- growing broad-based market, in addition to packaging, for products made from recycled resins. The younger generations are driving the “green” movement. However, I think that making consumers aware of the need to recycle plastics and following through on this with an efficient and effective national recycling infrastructure could go a long way toward reducing the amount of litter that’s generated by people discarding plastics products, including single-use bottles. I also believe that this is primarily a people problem. GS: I agree, no people, no problem. People create litter, usually without considering the consequences. GS: Call me naive, but I believe that most people want to do the “right thing.” Plus, there is ample evidence that they respond well to economic incentives such as returning bottles to claim the deposit. I don’t know what the answer to this is, or if there’s even an answer. GS: Yes, there is. It is called extended producer responsibility. If you made it, you are responsible [for it]—cradle to grave. (Editor’s note: an article that discusses extended producer responsibility for packaging appears in June Plastics Engineering, p. 26.) The resin companies and the plastics packaging industry need to take ownership of this problem. But I think the industry needs to do a better job of developing ways to reclaim used plastics and reuse them, and it needs to implement programs of meaningful outreach to consumers and regulators. One point that’s very apparent to me after reading studies produced by environmental groups, is that these organizations aren’t considering the positive side of plastics and plastics use. GS: I think that they are. What they don’t like is the pollution that comes with the benefits. Solve the pollution problem, and they will embrace the benefits of plastics. They are committed to scaling the industry and its products back quite a bit and are in this effort for the long haul—which to me means that the industry needs a corresponding approach, a long-range strategy accompanied by positive actions that address consumers’ and regulators’ concerns while meeting ongoing market needs for products that are effective, safe to use, economical and convenient. GS: I agree. If the plastics industry does not meaningfully address this plastics litter problem, and if the consumer products companies feel that the plastics package is hurting their sales because of environmental concerns, history has shown that they will move to something else, and very likely, as with coated paper replacing the [foamed polystyrene] clamshell container, something inferior. I tried to convey the need for both sides to find common ground in my Editor’s Letter, when I concluded that “I … want … regulators to improve their understanding of plastics and recycling technologies and work more constructively with industry to meet the universal need for a clean environment with as little waste as possible.” I hope we all can find a way to solve this problem. This is a discussion that will continue to be a regular part of editorial coverage in Plastics Engineering. I look forward to including the views of industry experts and non- industry people in order to provide as complete a perspective on the issue as possible. Thanks for your comments. GS: Thanks for taking the initiative on raising the visibility on this very serious matter. I look forward to reading comments from fellow SPE members. Regards, Pat Toensmeier ptoensmeier@4spe.org FEEDBACK and more needs to be done than incorporating a small percentage of recyclate into plastics packaging. Back in 2019 I was the chairman of SPE’s Sustainability Division, now the Recycling Division. I have attached my letter to our division members that addresses this subject (SPE Sustainability Newsletter, 1st Quarter, 2019). Although it is somewhat dated, our industry can move fast when under siege. I believe that [my letter] is still pertinent (see the letter on p. 7). Regards, George Staniulis AGS Technology Inc. Batavia, Ill. www.agstechnology.com Staniulis, p. 5 Plastics trash litters a beach. That otherwise recyclable plastics end up discarded on land and in waterways is an ongoing problem that bedevils the industry. Courtesy of the Institute for European Environmental Policy 6 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | OCTOBER 2021 | www.plasticsengineering.orgChairman’s Letter By A. George Staniulis, Sustainability Division, SPE (1st Quarter 2019) As that famous American philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “It’s like déja-vu all over again.” Once again, the plastics industry is in the environmental spotlight, and again, not in a good way. The primary culprits this time are discarded single-use plastics packaging polluting our oceans and landscape. Perhaps we can recall a little bit of history. Back in 1987, the infamous Long Island garbage barge, the Mobro 4000, was traveling from port to port looking for a friendly locale to unload its cargo of 3,200 tons of municipal waste, much of it plastics. What sparked this episode was that landfill space was at a premium in the Northeast, thus expensive, and municipalities were exporting their trash to lower-cost destinations. First the barge went to North Carolina. After it was turned away, the barge went to Mexico with the same results, then to Belize, then back to Long Island where the garbage was finally incinerated. Naturally, this activity generated a lot of press, and the cry was raised that we were running out of landfill capacity. Landfills were reaching their maximum capacity and closing faster than new facilities were being commissioned. What was needed was to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills. Not a bad thing under any circumstance. What became the bad boy in all of this was plastics. The poster child for this problem was single-use EPS (expanded polystyrene) clamshell containers utilized by the fast-food industry. Sound familiar? The plastics industry jumped in to protect itself by presenting loads of data showing that plastics packaging was the best packaging material environmentally, technically, and in every other way. However, once a public issue gets to this point, facts matter little. The populace just wants the problem to go away. From the interactions that I had with a major packaging manufacturer, they thought that the economic and technical benefits of the clamshell container, notably a longer shelf life [for take-out hamburgers and] a cleaner product, etc., would carry the day with their customers. Boy, were they wrong. As the landfill crisis festered, loud voices were raised vilifying plastics’ role in this situation. The hamburger sellers became concerned that the clamshell was negatively impacting their ability to sell their product. It wasn’t long before the clamshell was discontinued irrespective of its economic and technological benefits. One of the positive aspects of this situation was that it gave plastics recycling a big boost. Unfortunately, this was not enough to save the [EPS] clamshell, which was a better product than what they ended up with, coated paper. Now, 30 years later, we have a worldwide plastics pollution problem. The culprit again is single-use packaging. Even though we went through this problem before, it seems to me that we are repeating the same mistakes in how we are addressing this issue: 1) by focusing too much on technological arguments favoring plastics packaging; and 2) by trying to deflect blame by positioning this issue as a disposal and littering problem. In my view, since the material we are talking about is plastics, it is our problem. We need to make the problem go away—and quickly—otherwise many of our packaging products might end up like the clamshell: obsolete. Developing collection and sortation technologies takes time. Converting the mindset of the populace to stop littering will take generations. As I am blessed with 20/20 hindsight, we should have considered these back-end issues when we started making these products. But then, who would have listened? What can we do now? One way is to ban single-use plastics packaging—period. This will be effective, but it would not be my first option. Last year (2018) in Kenya, however, a law was enacted banning single-use plastics bags with penalties of 4 years in jail and up to $31,000 in fines for manufacturing, selling or even using this product. This draconian approach seems to be working with a noticeable reduction of plastics pollution, thus encouraging a number of other African countries to consider similar legislation. The European Union is also making noises to ban single- use packaging products. Another option is to expand bottle deposit programs to require a deposit on all plastics bottles [for] soda, water, milk, detergent, mouthwash, etc. The bottles, and, if need be, other plastics recyclables, would be returned to satellite redemption centers operated under the auspices of the resin and packaging companies. After all, following the cradle-to-grave model, this is their product and their responsibility. This approach would go a long way to address the collection and sortation challenges. A little cumbersome, but very doable. Finally, the packaging manufacturers themselves can mitigate this pollution problem by utilizing recycled plastics in their products or elsewhere in their operations. They can establish standards for cleanliness and consistency and convey to the recyclers that if they meet these standards, they will buy their material. In doing so, they will create value for a problematic waste material. We all know that nothing happens until someone sells something. I have confidence in our economic system that if there is a well-defined market for recycled plastics packaging, some bright entrepreneur will solve the problems necessary to satisfy that demand. One last thought for the packaging companies: stating that your goal is to make your packages recyclable, reusable or compostable is not enough. No matter how recyclable you make your package, if it is not being recycled, it is not recyclable. The best thing that you can do to drive recycling is to buy recycled resin wherever you can to manufacture your products. www.plasticsengineering.org | OCTOBER 2021 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 7Next >