Extrusion International 4-2024-USA

29 Extrusion International 4/2022 he is still very much an important contributor to the company. Paul Lloyd, President of Farrel Pomini, said: "Doug is nothing less than a true legend. He has had an absolutely amazing career and contribution to Farrel Pomini. Sixty years of service is a never to be repeated achievement, but it's not thewhole story," said Lloyd. "Doug's professional- ism and engineering knowledge, which were applied ev- ery day, are as much a feature of Doug's career as its lon- gevity. Everyone at Farrel Pomini has a debt of gratitude to Doug." FARREL POMINI www.farrel-pomini.com Statement on White House Federal Action Announcement  The Plastics Industry Associa - tion (PLASTICS) announced its dis- appointment in the White House’s Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles, and Priorities. “We are disappointed in today’s White House announcement, which arbitrarily singles out plastic un - der the false pretense of a lower environmental impact,” said Matt Seaholm, PLASTICS President and CEO. “The Plastics Industry Associa- tion and its member companies are dedicated to keeping plastic waste out of the environment, and we continue to collaborate with policy- makers at all levels of government to achieve this goal. Instead of targeting plastics, we support investing in improving our country’s recycling infrastructure and are pleased to see this prior - ity included in the White House’s strategy. New innovations, like ad- vanced recycling, which increase the efficiency, amount, and types of plastics that can be recycled, must not be stifled. Furthermore, we sup- port well-crafted extended produc- er responsibility policies and reason - able nationally recognized recycled content requirements. Plastic as a material continues to offer unparalleled safety, pro - tection, and efficiency and can be reused and recycled, reducing our overall resource needs. An inde- pendent analysis of plastic and its alternatives showed plastic was bet- ter for the environment in 13 out of 14 common applications. The White House’s announcement does not acknowledge this truth and will not get us closer to our sustainability goals. Our industry is ready to come to the table and work with the Admin- istration and Congress to keep plas- tic waste out of the environment. Instead of implementing arbitrary bans that don’t address our envi - ronmental challenges, we need to collaborate on sound policies that will truly help us achieve circularity,” concluded Seaholm. White House Position Change on Plastic Production Caps Strongly Opposed PLASTICS released the following statement on the White House’s decision to change its position and support limiting virgin plastics pro - duction as part of the UN Plastics Agreement currently being negoti - ated: “The White House’s misguided re- versal in support of plastic produc - tion caps is not only impractical but directly harmful to all U.S. manufac- turers and will get us no closer to reaching our shared environmental goals,” said Matt Seaholm, Presi - dent and CEO of PLASTICS. “The plastic industry is the seventh larg - est manufacturing industry in the United States and employs one mil - lion people. With this decision, the White House has turned its back on Americans whose livelihoods depend on our industry, as well as on manufacturers in all sectors that rely on plastic materials. Plastic of- fers unparalleled safety, protection, and efficiency and can be reused and recycled, reducing our overall resource needs. An independent study confirms plastics have lower total greenhouse gas contribution than alternative materials. Yet, the White House’s decision ignores these facts in favor of misinforma - tion spread by anti-plastic activists. Furthermore, this reversal has un - dermined U.S. negotiators’ influ- ence in UN negotiations as other countries know this extreme posi- tion will not receive support in the U.S. Senate. We are dedicated to keeping plastic waste out of the en- vironment and believe we need to work together to achieve this. How- ever, the White House’s drastic posi - tion change will not accomplish this goal, only set us back.” The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) www.plasticsindustry.org Matt Seaholm