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In his usual provocative
style, John Sale had no problem
in inviting audience response when he tackled the emotive subject of
'Plastics: Performance with Sustainability' in the presence
of SPRA members, some non-members and teachers on the Polymer Study
Tour. Since the early 1960s John has been involved with the plastics
industry, and plastics packaging in particular, first with ICI
and then with British Polythene Industries.
His presentation
started with definitions of 'sustainability' and a plea to use the term
'environmentally responsible' instead of 'environmentally friendly'
because nothing is really environmentally friendly when talking about
the needs of society.
John then proceeded to explode a number of myths surrounding plastics packaging, such as:
Plastic packaging is a major user of valuable earth resources, particularly oil
Plastics have to come from oil
Degradable products are always environmentally friendly
Plastics are never recyclable
Plastics leach dangerous chemicals into our food
We should tax plastic packaging to reduce use and prevent litter
Plastic
products save resources by reducing product damage, spoilage and waste.
The average shopper uses more oil driving to the supermarket than is used
in all the plastic packaging that protects their goods.
Today plastics are conveniently derived from oil
and gas but, in the long term, as the supply/demand balance of oil and
gas tightens, the carbon and hydrogen for plastic can come from sources
such as biomass and ultimately from abundant resources in the atmosphere.
Products such as paper degrade to produce greenhouse gases and contributes to global warming.
The
UK plastics packaging industry recycles 300,000 tonnes of plastic film
and 100,000 tonnes of plastic bottles every year.
All food contact packaging meets strict international limits. Polyethylene
contains no toxic materials. Most landfills are lined with plastic to
prevent leaching.
Plastics packaging is a very small percentage of litter (less than 1%)
and is already taxed under EU Packaging Waste Directive then again at
landfill. Litter is a social problem and requires education. A tax on
carrier bags in Eire actually increased the total amount of plastics used
(+300%) because people had to buy bin liners and refuse sacks to replace
carrier bags..
Efficiency
of Plastics Packaging
Weight of packaging
to contain
100 g of packed product
Packaging is a major
application of plastics because of its many advantages in prolonging the
life of food and reducing waste. The audience raised the issue that some
food, particularly fruit and vegetables, are over packaged but John explained
that research has shown that there is 27% more wastage if fruit is not
sealed in a tray.
Although not generally recognised by the public, recycling of plastic
packaging can be a successful operation, particularly with bottles but
John explained the dilemma for recyclers. Manufacture of plastics raw
materials ties up around 100 MJ/kg of energy and processing into packaging
adds another 20 MJ/kg. If the energy expended in the collection, washing
and reprocessing packaging waste exceeds 120 MJ/kg then, in energy terms,
it would be better to use virgin materials. With other packaging materials
having higher intrinsic energy content (1200 MJ/kg for paper and 1600
for metal) energy consumption in recycling is less of an issue.
Plastics offer many
advantages over alternative materials for packaging, not least being the
reduction in weight of packaging per weight of product. In a truckload
of soft drinks in glass bottles, 36% of the load is glass. With plastic
pouches, only 3.5% of the load is packaging.
Continuing the series on Corporate Members, this issue features Caledonian Industries.
Caledonian
Industries Ltd, formerly Caledonian
Ferguson Timpson, an SPRA Corporate Member for 7 years, was
founded in 2000 by Alan Thornton,
after he acquired two long established plastics companies, Caledonian
Industries, specialists in precision foam packaging, and Ferguson
and Timpson, renowned for their sealing and gasketing products, both
operating in Hillington, Glasgow. Caledonian
Industries now considers itself a materials technology and
manufacturing organisation, balancing the traditional foam packaging,
noise control and engineering plastics business with innovative ventures.
gaskets
biodegradable foam
Thanks to some last-minute registrations after concerted efforts to publicise the course, the annual 4-day residential course for teachers, held at Edinburgh Napier University at the end of June, attracted an encouraging mixture of design & technology and science teachers from across the UK but mainly from Scottish schools.
First Prize for Rocket Car Race
The
ice breaker event, in which teams had to construct a rocket car from a
coke bottle, vacuum formed chassis and injection moulded wheels, was approached
with enthusiasm but failed to achieve record breaking times.
The enthusiasm was channelled into more satisfying results in the hands-on
practical sessions covering polymer processing, materials testing and
plastics identification.
Booby Prize for Rocket Car Race
Mill mixing of a rubber compound
Getting to grips with injection moulding
More injection
moulding
Factory Tour
at Carron Bathrooms
Factory tour at Carron Phoenix
Colin Hindle addressing teachers and guests
at the Course Dinner
Mark Spofforth
addressing the company
Companies are urged to consider sponsoring a teacher, perhaps from a local school, for the 2010 Polymer Study Tour. As the economy recovers and companies start to recruit again, this could prove to be £750 well invested.
For
details of
enrolment and sponsorship for Polymer Study Tour 2010
contact Colin Hindle
C.Hindle@napier.ac.uk
To increase the awareness, at school level, of the potential of polymers, the SPRA organised a schools lecture/demonstration "Fantastic Plastic", delivered by Prof Averil Macdonald, Reading University on Tuesday 01 September 2009 at Edinburgh Napier University to over 370 pupils and teachers from 11 schools, from as far as Dundee, Selkirk and Barrhead. In introducing the speaker, Fergus Hardie, SPRA President, explained that, in supporting the its aim to support the teaching of polymers in schools, this was the first time that the SPRA had organised a lecture specifically for school pupils and the first time that Prof Macdonald had given the lecture in Scotland.
Fergus Hardie, SPRA President
introducing Prof Averil Macdonald
2. that when the audience got home, they could not resist telling somebody what they had learned about polymers.
3. that something she said will have a direct impact on the future of some of the audience.
Prof Macdonald
demonstrating the properties of gels
Prof Macdonald then captured the attention of her audience by cataloguing the many applications of plastics that have impacted on our lives before turning her attention to how to capitalise on some of the less publicised applications based on the unusual properties of polymers. First she demonstrated how hydrophilic polymers can soak up large quantities of water to produce gels, before demonstrating that, although these gels could be poured, the nature of the polymer chains allowed the gels to be cut cleanly with a pair of scissors and the cut gel showed elastic recovery. The principle of polymer gels is applied in the 8 million disposable nappies used every day in the UK, when inexpensive polymer fibres are coated with a hydrophilic polymer, a good example of combining two novel ideas to produce a winning product. Similarly the challenge of hygiene associated with hospital laundry has been solved by using water-soluble plastic bags, which are impregnated with detergent, filled bags being introduced to the washing process without having to be opened. Her third example used the other end of the polymer polarity spectrum, with oil absorbent polymers used to soak up oil spills, the really novel aspect being how the oil could be recovered, and reused, from the resultant gel.
Flexible flat
screen
"I though that Prof Macdonald's presentation was excellent. It was pitched at the right level for the audience and went down very well. The students from our school that I spoke to after thoroughly enjoyed it."
"Our pupils and staff enthused about it when they came back! The speaker was excellent and the content was pitched at the correct level for what we want."
"The lecture on Fantastic Plastics yesterday was excellent! St. Luke's
thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and I am sure all other schools did
as well. During the presentation I noticed the silence in the audience
as everyone was listening to the talk. This is unusual for a group of
school pupils and speaks volumes about how interested they were in the
topic.
The speaker was very entertaining as well as informative and gave an excellent
presentation. The content was exactly appropriate for the audience which
was S4 to S6."
"My troop
certainly enjoyed it and I'll be keen to repeat this with another group
next year if possible. The first half of the talk was pitched at the right
level for Standard Grade Chemistry (S4 is probably the best at this stage
of the year) and the second half where she focused on future applications
really seemed to engage to pupils."
"Speaker was excellent, content was very appropriate for S5/6 product design, venue and publicity/communication excellent and timeous."
To find out more about the
"Fantastic Plastic" Lecture/Demonstration,
including experimental details of the demonstrations,
click here
Mr Tommy McKinlay, Head of Design at Braes High School, presenting the cheque to Joanne Penman and Holly Stevenson, two of the winning team.
Pupils studying Graphic
Design in Year 5 at Braes High School,
Falkirk, rose to the challenge of a competition set by the SPRA to design
a poster to publicise the Schools Lecture/Demonstration "Fantastic
Plastic".
Working in teams, under the supervision of SPRA Council Member, Mrs Diane Paterson, the pupils quickly produced 8 designs. The winning team of Mark Gavin, Joanne Penman and Holly Stevenson shared the prize money of £75.
Winning poster design
After two years of lobbying, the British Plastics Federation finally achieved the establishment of the BPF Climate Change Agreement when the Finance Act received the Royal Assent in July. BPF has entered into a Climate Change Agreement (BPF CCA) with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) specifically for the Plastics Sector. This will allow companies with a qualifying site to claim an 80% discount from their energy supplier on the Climate Change Levy (CCL) that they pay on electricity and LPG. The BPF CCA has the potential to save the UK plastics industry over £50 million per annum in climate change levy payments until the year 2017. The time scale for benefiting from this scheme from 2010 is extremely tight. Companies who respond quickly may benefit as early as 01 October 2009. Those that miss the final deadline of 31 October will not be able to join until April 2011. Companies taking part in this scheme are at liberty to use any advisor/consultant to help prepare applications but BPF Energy (a company set up to administer the scheme) is working with Inenco. To help companies unravel the intricacies of the scheme, BPF has organised two free surgeries in September.
Long-standing SPRA
member and regular presenter at SPRA technical meetings, Peter
Kirkham, Managing Director of Billion UK, chose an unusual
way to celebrate his 50th birthday by undertaking a tandem sky-dive and
parachute jump, or, as Peter described it, attempted suicide. The jump
consisted of sky-diving the first mile and and a half and then more gentle
progress by parachute in the second mile.
The SPRA looks forward to Peter 'dropping in' to deliver one of the presentations at the November meeting on "Multi-material Moulding", an event sponsored by Billion UK.
A recent report "Economic Crisis: Impact on the Plastics Industry and Opportunities", issued jointly by the European plastics converters organisation, EUPC, the plastics and rubber machinery association and PlasticsEurope, outlined how the plastics industry can contribute to gearing up for economic recovery. The European plastics industry has already demonstrated how it contributes to long term solutions and sustainability through insulation, renewable energy, drinking water preservation, healthcare, packaging, transport, electronics and sport and leisure. It argues that, for short term recovery, priority should be given to tax/financial incentives and regulatory tools to create a climate for accelerating innovation and the recovery process. The industry is asking regional, national and European authorities to:
improve cash flow and tackle late payments;
boost innovation;
make environmental policy integral to recovery plans;
avoid negative impacts of the EmissionTrading System;
recast public procurement legislation and guidelines;
avoid further legislative burdens on businesses
To
view the report click here
For contributions to
future Newsletters, press releases, sponsorship contact:
Charlie Geddes,
143 Lady Nairn Avenue, Kirkcaldy,
Fife KY1 2AT
tel: 01592 651 269;
E-mail :c.geddes@blueyonder.co.uk