Author Archives: Susan Freinkel

Plastic Classics

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Susan Freinkel

What designs today will stand as icons of this time? Writer Julie Lasky posed that question in the New York Times this week, prompted by the upcoming tenth anniversary of Philippe Starck’s Louis Ghost chair. Its maker Kartell claims that … Continue reading →

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Plastics at the Rio Earth Summit

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Susan Freinkel

Daniella Russo, a co-founders of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, was in Rio de Janeiro last week for the Rio+20 2012 Earth Summit. I asked her about what did –and didn’t — happen at the international gathering: Q: What were you … Continue reading →

Posted in Plastic Pollution, Plastics Policy, Recycling, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Plasticity 2012

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Susan Freinkel

Do you have a cool idea for reusing used plastic bottles? Have you thought of innovative ways to collect and recycle plastic trash? If so, check out Plasticity 2012, a one-day forum that will be held next month alongside Rio … Continue reading →

Posted in Business of Plastics, Plastic Pollution, Recycling, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Whose Wish List Counts?

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Susan Freinkel

One of the chief defenders of the plastics/chemicals industry is the Washington DC law firm of Keller and Heckman. Founding partner Jerome Heckman has represented plastics for decades going back to the industry’s first public relations crisis in 1959 when … Continue reading →

Posted in Plastics & Health, Plastics Policy, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The new new bag defenders

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Susan Freinkel

FYI bag warriors: In January, the American Chemistry Council handed over defense of the plastic bag to the Society for the Plastics Industry — plastic’s older, but smaller and poorer trade association. The advocacy team, now operating under the name … Continue reading →

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Remember the Lorax

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Susan Freinkel

In anticipation of the new film, The Lorax, the American Chemistry Council has launched a site directed at all those kids who may have been energized by the movie’s environmental message. Plastics and the Lorax doesn’t try to overtly correct … Continue reading →

Posted in Business of Plastics, Recycling | 1 Comment

How to keep up with bag laws

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Susan Freinkel

When I was working on my book, trying to track the political debate over plastic bags was a major pain. Every time I saw a news story about some town considering a ban, I would log it into a chart … Continue reading →

Posted in Plastics Policy | 1 Comment

The Coming Polyethylene Flood

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Susan Freinkel

Everyday I receive a news alert from the American Chemistry Council and each day it seems the alert contains at least one or more entries about fracking — the controversial practice of extracting natural gas (or oil) from shale. Even … Continue reading →

Posted in Business of Plastics | 1 Comment

Will Bag Bans Take Off in California?

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Susan Freinkel

If I were a betting person, I’d wager we’ll see a wave of plastic bag prohibitions coming out of California communities over the next year. And I’m guessing that unlike the first round of bag measures that were inspired by … Continue reading →

Posted in Business of Plastics, Plastic Pollution, Plastics Policy, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Plastic Groups Team Up

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Susan Freinkel

Plastic has long been a balkanized industry, fraught with internecine rivalries. For years, there was bad blood between the industry’s two biggest trade groups, the Society for the Plastics Industry (SPI) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC). But there’s nothing … Continue reading →