Extrusion International USA 5-2021

24 Extrusion International 5/2021 EXTRUSION INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS As President & CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, Tony Radoszewski experienced fi rst-hand the light and dark sides that the pandemic had in store for the US plastics industry. In this interview, he reports on the advantages that the material was able to demonstrate for the health sector, but also on the adverse effects that the pandemic had on the recycling market Plastics Industry Association is supporting the entire US plas- tics chain. How have you and your members experienced the last 18 months, in the wake of the pandemic? Tony Radoszewski: Plastic is everywhere, but its positive con- tributions have tended to hide in plain sight. The pandemic really brought to light how essential plastic is to modern soci- eties. Plastic gloves, face masks and barriers have been essen- tial in preventing and treating Covid-19. Put simply, plastic has proven to be irreplaceable, and no doubt saved countless lives during this challenging period. What precautions had you taken in your organisation regard- ing the pandemic, and which are still active? Radoszewski: I have a very real responsibility as the leader of our association to keepmy people safe. I take that responsibil- ity very seriously. We’ve consistently adhered to guidance and protocols from federal and local public health agencies. We’ve been very successful in adapting to virtual operations since last year. That being said, I very much look forward to getting back into the of fi ce for regular in-person meetings with my staff later this year. It’s tough to replace the ability to drop into a colleague’s of fi ce with a quick question. Those quick brain- storming sessions can often times lead to big ideas. Regarding the PET/bottling industry in particular – how do the production fi gures currently compare to the last few years? Radoszewski: The long-term trend is upward and production has partially recovered from the shock that resulted from the pandemic last year. However, various near-term supply chain bottlenecks have prevented a full production recovery com- pared to past years. During the pandemic, the consumption behaviour of many consumers changed. In Europe, for example, there was an in- crease in sales of PET packaging in larger containers. Have you also observed new trends in the USA – a country where larger containers are more important anyway – with regard to PET bottles? Radoszewski: The data really doesn’t point to a strong shift to larger containers in the United States. Consumption of es- sentials rose signi fi cantly during the pandemic, which was re fl ected in both small and large PET containers. During the peak of the public health crisis, consumers purchased what was readily available. During the lockdowns, many recyclers complained of not get- ting bottles back at the usual rate. How have the recyclers among your members been doing? And are the plants now running at full capacity again? Radoszewski: Our members also experienced the availability issue. Interestingly, this happened most noticeably in those states with bottle-return policies since the deposit centres stopped taking them back. New York even waived the re- quirement for retailers to take them back. Some curb side col- lection was impacted, but not as drastically. Most plants cur- rently are back to operating at full capacity. However, the bale price is signi fi cantly higher than last year at this time and in some places almost double 2019 prices. In your view, how does the American recycling industry com- pare internationally with regard to PET? And what adjust- ments could be made for further improvements? Radoszewski: The US differs from most of the world because we do not have a single system to collect plastics, especially PET bottles. This complicates access to recycling and is in fl u- enced by a number of local factors including container-depos- it policies, attitudes, and infrastructure. These all impact the economics of recycling. Unlike other types of plastic products where there may be technical challenges in their recycling, the issue with PET bottles is one of consumer participation. Recy- clers could – and want – to process more PET bottles. There is a strong market for recycled PET. Increased consumer educa- tion and an increase is recycling infrastructurewould go a long way to improving the recycling system and rates overall. California is in the headlines often at the moment because of new packaging and recycling bills, and your association has speci fi cally positioned itself against the California Labelling Bill SB 343. Can you brie fl y explain to our readers the most important bills that affect the PET bottling/recycling industry? Radoszewski: There are two signi fi cant bills in California that we are keeping an eye on and it’s a bit confusing as to what the goal is here. AB 478 mandates recycled content in all ther- moforms. This includes PET as well as the other resins such as polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene. Another bill “The Long-Term Trend is Upward” President & CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, Tony Radoszewski