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EDITOR'S NOTE: We are including this article on our Web site to illustrate the plastics industry's stance on the health concerns regarding phthalates and bisphenol A. The article outlines plans by the American Chemistry Council to implement an aggressive media campaign to assure us all that phthalates and BPA are safe, while blatantly disregarding the growing body of scientific evidence that contradicts their position. In light of the scientific research, we think this upcoming campaign is outrageous and irresponsible.
E-Weekly
In a little over two years as president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Arlington, VA), Jack Gerard has promised members to "run the association, like you run your business", leading to a reorganization and 25 new members, as well as an increased emphasis on political responsiveness, but the term has not been without its challenges, specifically increasing hostility towards plastics. From bottle and bag bans to growing concern with plastics-related chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), the ACC says the loudening plastics outcry has not gone unnoticed in political circles, with some areas getting more attention than others.
"California tends to be the incubator for many ill-conceived ideas," Gerard told the crowd in his keynote speech at the ACC's recent Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) event in Orlando (Sept. 24-26). "The ACC wants to turn the tide of anti-plastics legislation in California... We're focused on state and local laws as a beachhead to broader federal regulation."
Part of that focus has entailed gauging popular sentiment about plastics in the state, with the ACC in August questioning four focus groups along the California coast from north of San Francisco to San Diego. "[Respondents'] impressions of plastics were not fixed," Steven Russell, newly appointed managing director of ACC's plastics division, told MPW. "When we told them some of the positive aspects of plastics [with regards to energy efficiency], we found out we can move the needle."
Russell, and Sharon Kneiss, VP of the ACC's products division, said the trade group is responding aggressively to what it perceives as at times unwarranted hostility towards plastics from the government. "Over the last two years," Kneiss said, "we've seen a tremendous shift and changing attitudes towards plastics."
To combat that shift, and acknowledge real problems in terms of recycling and plastics litter, on land and in the ocean, the ACC will launch a California-focused print and radio ad campaign in October. Additionally, public events are in the works, including a late-November marine-debris workshop and beach clean up at La Hoya. For that event, which looks to address the growing level of plastic debris in the Pacific, the ACC has partnered with the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
"There are concerns with litter that we need to address," Russell said, adding three points of emphasis going forward will be reuse of items were possible; recycling; and plastics energy benefits. "Litter is a concern we share—our customers are residents of California.
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