Page 40 - Plastics News March 2017

INTERNATIoNAL NEWS

UN Environment declares war on Ohio Department of

ocean plastics, lobbies for product Rehabilitation supports program

bans and taxes with manufacturing jobs

he environment agency of the United Nations is urging he ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
Tgovernments to ban or tax plastic bags, restrict Tand the manufacturing services arm of trade
microplastic beads in cosmetics and take other actions group Polymerohio have joined other reform-minded
against single-use packaging. U.N. Environment kicked people familiar with the challenge of finding jobs for
off the campaign on February 23 targeting disposable
plastics and ocean pollution. The agency launched the former prison inmates to form the Training Assessment
Clean Seas campaign at the World Ocean Summit in Placement Project, or TAPP. “You can see the potential,”
Indonesia, headlining its announcement by saying that the Vickie Miller said. Miller is not a plastics expert; she’s
“U.N. Declares War on Ocean Plastic.” It said 10 countries a corrections and rehabilitations expert. She spent
signed on, including Indonesia, France and Norway. The 17 years teaching
ocean is the lifeblood of our planet, yet we are poisoning inmates at the
it with millions of tons of plastic every year,” said Peter ohio Reformatory
Thomson, president of the for Women in
U.N. General Assembly. “I Marysville before
urge all [countries] to join striking on a new
the Clean Seas campaign and venture in 2015.
make an ambitious pledge to A t any g iv en
reduce single-use plastic. Be time in recent
it a tax on plastic bags or a years, ohio has
ban on microbeads in cosmetics, each country [can] do had about 50,000
their bit.” citizens locked in
its prisons. Each
The agency said governments should pass plastics year, it releases
reduction policies and industry should work to minimize about 20,000, but too often they find no jobs and
plastics packaging and redesign products. It called on
consumers to “change their throwaway habits little support on the outside and end up back behind
bars after reoffending.Meanwhile, the state has over
The high-profile summit drew plastics industry executives 1,000 companies in the plastics and polymers industry,
like Covestro AG CEo Patrick Thomas, along with including seven Global 500 companies.
government officials and environmental groups, to Bali
from February 22-24. The American Chemistry Council, The industry has a particularly strong presence in
which sent participants, said resin manufacturers are Northeast ohio, anchored by companies in Greater
actively engaged in pilot programs to reduce plastics in Akron, but the segment routinely complains that it
the ocean and improve waste management in Asia Pacific. can’t find and keep the dedicated workers it needs.
“Scientific and political leaders have identified the need So far, she’s been working in central ohio, mostly with
to improve land-based waste management — particularly plastics companies in and around Columbus. Now, she
in rapidly industrializing economies — as the single most said, she’s spreading the program to Northeast ohio as
important step we can take to reduce the flow of waste well. “The program is not something that’s quick. A lot
into the ocean,” said Steve Russell, vice president of of people think that once you get a restored citizen to
plastics at Washington-based ACC. United Nations officials work, everything’s oK. That’s a myth. That’s actually
said they hoped more countries would make commitments when things often go wrong in their world,” Miller said.
to reduce single use plastic at a U.N. ocean conference in “That first month or month and a half is just a very
New York in early June.Simis nicaecre rei peconsu crucial time in their life.”

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