Oct 1, 2014 | Uncategorized
As expected, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a measure banning single-use plastic bags from grocery stores.
Under the new law signed Tuesday, grocery stores and pharmacies will have until July 2015 to stop providing customers with single-use plastic bags, while convenience and liquor stores will have until 2016 to phase them out. As we mentioned in a previous post, the law also provides money to local plastic bag companies to retool their operations to make bags that would meet the new state-wide requirements. Such bags could include reusable plastic grocery bags.
For the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), however, this law isn’t the final word on plastic bags. As one of the major groups to fight the California bag ban, the APBA plans to put the issue on the ballot in November. According to an article from Plastics News, APBA Executive Director Lee Califf released the following statement on Tuesday:
California’s constitution provides voters the opportunity to stop bad laws through the referendum process. Our research confirms that the vast majority of California voters are opposed to legislation that bans recyclable plastic bags and allows grocers to charge and keep fees on other bags. So we have taken the necessary steps to gather signatures and qualify a referendum to repeal SB 270 on the November 2016 ballot. Since state lawmakers failed their constituents by approving this terrible bill, we will take the question directly to the public and have great faith they will repeal it at the ballot box. Ultimately the voters will decide and, until then, California families – including thousands of our industry’s workers – will be protected from the implementation of this unprecedented scam.
It seems that this issue is far from settled, at least for the APBA, but stopping the law at this point will likely be an uphill battle. We’ll be sure to update you again on any developments in the coming months.
Sep 3, 2014 | Uncategorized
An ongoing issue we have been following is the movement in California to ban plastic grocery bags. Though environmentalists have been pushing for the ban for years, it was just last Friday, August 29th, that the California Senate finally passed a bill banning California grocery, convenience, and drug stores from providing single-use plastics bags. In order for the ban to take effect, Governor Jerry Brown would have to sign the bill into law, though Reuters has stated he hasn’t signaled a position on the measure.
According to a report by Plastics News, the bill includes $2 million in funding within California’s recycling fund so that “plastic bag makers would be able to apply for grants to retrain workers or reorganize operations to make bags that would meet the new state-wide requirements in the bill.”
Lee Califf, executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), released a statement before the senate vote that said, “It’s disappointing that members of the Assembly voted to advance a bill that threatens 2,000 California manufacturing jobs, hurts consumers and puts billions of dollars into the pockets of grocers — without providing any benefit to the environment.”
It’s important to note that this bill, and similar movements in other states, only seeks to ban the use of plastic grocery bags and not the custom bags we manufacture. Still, it’s an issue we’re keeping an eye on because its ramifications across the plastics industry could be far reaching. We will keep you updated on the situation in California, as well as other high-profile bag-ban proposals in other areas.
Aug 26, 2014 | Uncategorized
In my previous update I told you about resin increases scheduled for July 1st and August 1st. It’s safe to say at this point those increases did not take hold. However, there is now a 3-cent increase on the table for September 1st.
It’s still too early to tell what the outcome will be, but The Plastics Exchange has taken the position that “spot conditions and supply side fundamentals certainly support the initiative.” As always, I will update you again as I know more.
If you have any questions about this update or anything else at all, please let us know. Thank you allowing us to serve your packaging needs.
Jul 18, 2014 | Uncategorized
In my previous post I told you about a resin increase of 3 to 6 cents per pound scheduled for June 1st. Now that June has come and gone, it’s safe to say that increase never took hold.
Increases for July 1st and August 1st were then put on the table. As we move to the end of July the picture is still not completely clear, but it does look like a July increase will settle in. The odds of this were strengthened by some recent events in the petrochem industry. Plastics News has reported major polyethylene suppliers “have declared force majeur production limits on that material after incidents at their Texas plants — including a July 7 fire that injured two workers at a Chevron Phillips ethylene/propylene unit in Port Arthur.”
Plastics News also added: “No timetable has been set for restart of the area affected by the incident,” and that the situations “could tighten supply in a North American PE market where demand has been lackluster so far in 2014.”
As time goes on, I will know more about the situation and update you accordingly.
If you have any questions about this update or anything else at all, please let us know. Thank you for your continued business, and we look forward to serving you.
Jun 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
The polyethylene market has been experiencing some stressful times over the last number of months. It is no secret that resin producers would love to add in more price increases. In fact, there are announced increases for June 1st and July 1st.
Some producers are holding back, others are pressing forward. As a consequence of the market uncertainty, it is likely that we won’t be able to say what the outcome of the June 1st price increase will be until July 1st. If it does indeed go through, it is possible that we will have to put the increase through in the early part of July. I anticipate that a possible June 1st increase will amount to 3% to 6% on our pricing, but I will have to update you again as July approaches.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call one of our customer service representatives at (800) 272-2634 or send us an email.
