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Senate committee approves opening ANWR . . . The Senate energy committee voted 13 to 9 to add a measure to the budget reconciliation bill that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. Aides to committee chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) said a vote by the full Senate was likely within two weeks. In the meantime, Dominici said he would postpone until next year proposals to remove existing moratoria on oil and gas production on the Outer Continental Shelf.
New name for Processors' group . . . SPI's Structural Plastics Division changed its name to the Alliance of Plastics Processors following a vote by the division's board. "Changing our name will better serve our members by broadening the scope of our division, providing more access to technology and other resources beyond the structural plastics division, and opening our group to collaboration with other organizations that can share skills, knowledge and leadership-training," said Allen Weidman, Executive Director of the Alliance. The Alliance will also have stronger representation within SPI governance and more influence in tackling industry-wide issues, Weidman said. In Related News . . . The Alliance also voted to change the name of its annual conference to the "Plastic Parts, Innovations Conference and New Product Design Competition." The next conference will be held April 2-4, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Columbus Hotel in Columbus, OH. Partners for the event include the SPI Midwest Region, Mid America Plastic Partners and PolymerOhio. The Alliance is now accepting abstract submissions for technical presentations on topics that cover resin cost and replacement options, parts design, emerging technologies, productivity solutions, tooling innovations and case studies focusing on past parts competition award winners. The Alliance also welcomes any proposals for special technology workshops, panels, seminars and student papers. Abstracts are due by Friday, December 2, 2005. Conference organizers will hold a logo contest for current division members to create a new logo for the Alliance, which will be announced at the April conference. For more information about the Alliance of Plastic Processors, the April 2006 "Plastic Parts" conference, or the logo contest, visit APP on the web at www.plasticparts.org, or contact Karen Miles, (202) 974-5247; e-mail: kmiles@socplas.org. New occupational health guide available . . . SPI's Occupational Health and Environmental Issues Committee (OHEIC) will soon release An SPI Guide to Safety and Health in the Plastics Industry. The guide was created to help occupational safety and health managers recognize and understand OSHA regulations that might apply to their facilities. The guide provides brief summaries of key regulations and special topics that SPI members have found useful in developing their health and safety programs. SPI members should contact Marie Martinko (by phone at 202-974-5330 or via email at mmartink@socplas.org) to receive information on obtaining complimentary copies or for bulk orders. Also visit http://www.plasticsindustry.org/public/oheic.htm for more information. OHEIC to meet in Washington . . . The next meeting of SPI's Occupational Health and Environmental Issues Committee (OHEIC) will be held November 2-3 at SPI's Washington, DC office. Meeting attendees will have an opportunity to attend the signing of the SPI/OSHA Alliance renewal at noon on November 3 at OSHA. (For more information about the SPI/OSHA Alliance, please see http://www.plasticsindustry.org/public/worksafe/alliance.htm.) If you plan to attend but have not yet completed a registration form, please contact Marie Martinko at mmartink@socplas.org by Wednesday, October 26.
For more information about SPI Link, mailing list additions/deletions, or to receive the publication by e-mail, contact Paula Weis, (202) 974-5282; e-mail pweis@socplas.org. More About SPI: Vision and Mission . Membership . Business Units . Regional Offices . News and Publications . Calendar of Events . Terms and Conditions of Use |
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Plastics industry issues highlighted at Hill meetings . . . SPI President Bill Carteaux met again with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to seek their support on critical issues facing the plastics industry, including the increasing difficulty of providing employer health coverage among steadily rising costs. Among others, Carteaux met with Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) and Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA). Carteaux also discussed potential policy solutions to alleviate skyrocketing natural gas and oil prices that impact the industry's competitiveness. "Our goal as an industry is to get these issues in front of our policymakers. In particular, SPI hopes to work closely with Congress to pass legislation that will further open the Outer Continental Shelf to boost natural gas supplies and lower prices," said Carteaux, noting that Sens. DeMint and Burr said they would like to meet again in the near future with plastics industry representatives to discuss how they can help. In the coming weeks, Carteaux and a delegation from SPI will also meet in Detroit with Sen. Debbie Stabenow ( -MI) to discuss the industry's need for reliable, affordable supplies of natural
Malibu approves polystyrene ban . . . The Malibu (Ca.) City Council approved Ordinance 286, a ban on polystyrene foam food packaging in local restaurants. The Council said the intention of the ban is "to reduce polystyrene foam marine debris on local beaches." The decision followed months of protests from local business owners, who believe the ban will essentially become a "hidden tax" passed on to their customers through the use of alternatives to polystyrene that will inevitably be more expensive. SPI and its industry allies firmly believe there is no evidence to suggest that banning a single component of the litter stream would be effective in reducing marine debris within Malibu. A ban will not change underlying littering behavior or reduce litter generated outside city limits. The composition of litter might change over time, but bans have no proven effect on the real issue, which is decreasing the litter rate. 
TRI reporting burden to be eased for some facilities . . . EPA will soon propose a rule to expand the use of a shortened reporting form (Form A certification standard) for some industrial facilities that report emissions under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The proposal is expected to save 165,000 man-hours per year for about one-third of companies that report under TRI. The proposal also provides new incentives for facilities to emit less in order to be able to use the shorter form. The agency said it plans to inform Congress it intends to change the frequency of TRI reporting to alternate years, which it said will result in significant burden reduction and allow resources to be redirected toward making the TRI data more accessible to the public. Additional information, a copy of the proposal and notification to Congress will be available to the public at 
Plastics magazine to feature Carteaux . . . Modern Plastics will feature a quarterly column from SPI president Bill Carteaux, the trade magazine's editor, Jeff Sloane, announced in the October issue (see Jeff's editorial at 
The price of natural gas has increased by 700 percent since the late 1990s - a fact Dow Chemical told Congress in recent testimony on the natural gas crisis.