Plastics the Greener Option:

How to Tell the Story

Presented By:

Michael D. Taylor

Vice President, International Affairs and Trade

25th Asia Plastics Forum

Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC)

Dhaka, Bangladesh

January 21, 2016

Agenda

Background on SPI

Our Image Problem – Dealing with Myths, Fears

and Hostility

NGOs – The Need for A Strategy

Improving the Brand by Education and Outreach

Effective Advocacy through Effective Storytelling

Q&A

Founded in 1937, SPI is the only U.S.

trade association representing ALL

segments of the plastics industry

Our Image Problem – A Source

of Many Challenges

• Extended producer

responsibility

• Foodservice packaging bans

• Marine debris

• Product deselection based

on chemical content

• Bag bans or taxes

What We Produce Under Attack

• PET

• Polystyrene

• PVC

• Polycarbonates

• Epoxy Resins

• Polyurethane

Should You Fear Chemicals in

Your Food?

“My mom doesn’t allow food with added chemicals in our house.”

“I only eat organic food because there aren’t any chemicals added.”

“I need to go on a cleanse to get rid of the toxic chemicals in my body."

• Many health professionals have become alarmed by the rise of these types of statements and consider them a symptom of the growing trend of “chemophobia,” or the fear of chemicals. Chemophobia can breed avoidance of perfectly healthy foods, make a person susceptible to an overly restrictive diet and be downright expensive.

• Why chemical literacy? A person who is not chemically literate is easily led to believe there are scary chemicals hiding in our food supply, and that our bodies are somehow in need of a “cleanse” to get rid of those toxic chemicals. A chemically literate person knows everything is made of chemicals and does not fear scary sounding chemical names, but instead knows to be selective about which chemical to avoid or limit, and which chemical is actually needed for a healthy body. The chemically illiterate person is alarmed by ascorbic acid, but the chemically literate person is able to determine that this is just another term for vitamin C.

• Basic truths of chemistry. It's important to remember that everything is made of chemicals. It's impossible to not consume chemicals, and to imply that we should try is ludicrous. Of course, some chemicals are quite dangerous, while others are only dangerous at certain doses or in certain applications (such as breathing in water – quite dangerous).

• Another basic truth of chemistry is the dose makes the poison. Even healthy chemicals can become toxic at certain doses. For example, retinol can be toxic in high doses, but it's essential for health in lower doses – retinol is a chemical form of vitamin A.

• Moving toward chemical literacy. Learning the language of chemistry helps us become more savvy when hearing chemical terms, and less likely to be duped into fear-based decisions.

Take a Step into the Age of Chemical Literacy

Poll Reveals Rift Between

Scientists, Regular Folks

Typical Private Sector

Perception of NGOs

The Struggle for Influence:

Private Sector and NGOs

• Be clear about your message: First thing, figure out what you actually want to say

and why. Sounds basic and is but will help you to decide which media to target and

with what.

• Embrace the new media vanguard: New journalistic formats such as Buzzfeed, Vice

and Medium.com – these online formats may have different needs than traditional

media.

• Get non-comms staff to use social media: Encourage staff to use social media

themselves.

• Use these changing times as an opportunity: We are living in a period of transition.

Journalists want quality information. They need context and stories. Good

relationships with the media require time and resources for communication.

• Learn what news is: What is newsworthy? What story will make you stop a shower to

turn up your radio?

• Tell human stories: It’s all about telling the human impact – how it affects real people.

• Produce your own content: News budgets are getting tighter and journalists have less

resources so anything that will simplify the process will be welcome in newsrooms.

Ways to Attract Positive Media Attention

What Does A Life Cycle Analysis

Tell Us…

Plastic bags are greener

than paper bags, disposable

plastic cups have fewer

impacts than reusable

ceramic mugs, and owning

a dog is worse than driving

an SUV.

David Tyler is a chemistry

professor at the University

of Oregon.

How Plastics Can Help Enhance

A Package’s Environmental

Performance

Many types of plastic packaging help to reduce packaging weight, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

• Substituting a variety of plastics packaging with non-plastics alternative would increase the amount of packaging generated annually in the U.S. by 50 million tons.

• The use of non-plastics alternatives would increase energy use by 82 percent, equivalent to the energy from 91 oil tankers.

• Alternatives would result in 130 percent more global warming potential. That's like adding 15.7 million cars to our roads.

This means that plastics help to significantly reduce packaging weight, which results in more product shipped with less packaging, fewer trucks on the road, less energy used, less greenhouse gas emissions and less material to recover or recycle.

Plastic is the Material of Choice

for the Environment

Plastic Packaging Help Reduce The Amount Of Materials Used

• Ecolean Liquid Packaging: These plastic pouches used for liquids such as milk and juice can cut packaging weight by more than 50 percent. Flat as an envelope when not filled, they take up little space in transit to food companies and when discarded. Made with polypropylene and polyethylene plastic, the pouches use as much as 85 percent less energy to manufacture than conventional packaging, according to Ecolean.

• Bertolli® Pasta Sauce Pouches: These microwavable pouches use 70 percent less material compared to glass jars and take up significantly less space in trucks, especially when shipping unfilled packaging. Made from plastics and other materials, one truckload of unfilled pouches equals 25 truckloads of unfilled jars, leading to less energy use and fewer emissions.

• Eco Pack Green Box: The Eco Pack is an innovative, reusable container for shipping and displaying produce, meat, baked goods and other foods. An easy-to-assemble plastic frame and plastic sleeves create a durable, stackable flat or tray that is half the weight of cardboard. According to the manufacture, Eco Packs use up to 90 percent less energy than existing packaging and fit into existing distribution methods (pallets, containers, trucks), from farm to store

The Plastics Industry is

Innovative

Plastics Help Deliver Clean Water When Disaster Strikes

The Plastics Industry is

Preventive

Plastic Nets Help Combat Malaria

"Vinyl Saves Lives" Booth and

Demo at NPE2015

• Appearing at the lobby of the South Hall of the Orange County Convention Center, the booth’s showcased items included an actual portable medical isolation containment unit similar to those used in Africa and elsewhere to isolate patients and protect medical personnel and the populace from the spread of infectious diseases and contain pandemics such as Ebola and SARS. Also on display were Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as garments, masks and shoe covers.

• “Lacking a vaccine for Ebola at this time, PVC plays an essential role as a barrier material between the health care worker and the fluids that are known to spread the virus.”

Flexible Vinyl Alliance’s Executive Director Kevin Ott

Use of Plastics in Blood Bags

Packaging

• Both plastic and glass can be used as

primary packaging for blood plasma,

with glass containers only being used

for lyophilized plasma.

• Plastic containers are generally made

of polyethylene, polypropylene and

plasticized PVC.

• Permitted additives include

antioxidants, plasticizers, stabilizers

and lubricants.

U.S. Facts about the Blood Supply

• 4.5 million Americans would die each year without life saving blood transfusions.

• Approximately 32,000 pints of blood are used each day in the United States.

• Every three seconds someone needs blood.

• One out of every 10 people entering a hospital needs blood.

• Much of today's medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from health donors.

• Donated red blood cells must be used within 42 days of collection.

• Donated platelets must be used within five days of collection.

• Plasma can be frozen and used for up to a year.

• 60% of the US population is eligible to donate - only 5% do on a yearly basis.

• The volume of blood transfused to patients is increasing at the rate of 6% per year.

Umbilical Hernia Repair

18

Program Components

• OCS Goal: Zero Plastic Pellet Loss!– Keep pellets where they belong

• OCS Principles:– Avoid spills and clean them up if they occur– Dispose of and handle pellets properly

• OCS program composed of:– Employee training tools– Housekeeping procedures for all aspects of the

industry

Program Benefits

Protects and preserves our environment, particularly waterways and oceans

Contributes to workplace safety Enhances industry commitment to product

stewardship Reduces material waste

How Can My Organization ParticipateThere are two types of memberships:

PARTNERS are companies that manufacture or handle plastic resin pellets.

SUPPORTERS are organizations (for profit or non-profit companies; incorporated trade associations; and unincorporated coalitions) that do not qualify for partnership (i.e., do not manufacture or handle resin pellets) but support the efforts of OCS to prevent pellet loss in the environment.

Industry Efforts Can Show ResultsTrend: -33 ± 3 pellets km-2 year-1

r2 = 0.83, p<0.01

Supporting Associations Worldwide

Thank You!

谢谢 Merci Vielen Dank

Grazie ありがとうございました감사합니다Obrigado Спасибо Gracias Teşekkürler

Questions & Answers

Michael Taylor

mtaylor@plasticsindustry.org

202-974-5232