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July 1, 2020
Indonesia’s Plan To Prevent 16 Million Metric Tons of Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans
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Indonesia has a plan to reduce plastic pollution by 16 million metric tons
A collaboration of public, private, and advocates in Indonesia, the Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP), has released a joint action plan for reducing plastic pollution titled, “Radically Reducing Plastic Pollution In Indonesia: A Multistakeholder Action Plan”. The goal of this plan is to prevent 16 million metric tons of plastic from polluting Indonesia’s oceans while creating 150,000 jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 metric tons per year. Indonesia currently generates 6.8 million metric tons of plastic waste each year leading to ever increasing plastic pollution and mismanaged waste. 
 
The plan compares a “business as usual” scenario with the “System Change Scenario”. If no action is taken, the plastic pollution Is expected to more than double by 2040. The System Change Scenario has five key interventions:
  1. Reduce or substitute plastic usage by more than one million metric tons each year.
  2. Redesign plastic products and packaging for increased reuse and recycling.
  3. Double plastic waste collection to more than 80% by 2025.
  4. Double current recycling capacity by 2025.
  5. Build and/or expand waste disposal facilities to manage non-recyclable waste.
The NPAP is comprised of 230 member organizations, including national and local government, businesses, advocacy groups and academia, among others. Five new task forces have been formed to translate the plan into actionable steps. To read more about the Indonesian plan, please click here.
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July 2, 2020
The 10 Steps of The Ocean Cleanup's Plastic Journey
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The Ocean Cleanup’s 10 step Plastic Journey from ocean to product
The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit founded in 2013 in the Netherlands, is dedicated to developing technologies to solve the problem of the world’s ocean plastic pollution. After harvesting the first batch of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, The Ocean Cleanup has begun what they have termed The Plastic Journey, with the goal of creating sustainable products from the captured plastic.
 
The Plastic Journey has a total of ten steps from harvest to reinvestment. Here’s a quick look at the 10 steps of The Plastic Journey.
  1. Harvest, bag, and track the plastic: As the rigid plastics and ghost nets are harvested from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, they are dried, bagged, weighed, and tagged. The origin of the plastic is tracked throughout the steps. They specifically collect polyolefins, polyethylene (PE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP).
  2. Transport: The plastic is now transported to a facility for recycling, in this case the facility is located in Europe.
  3. Presorting: At this point in the process, the rigid plastics are sorted from the ghost nets. For this first product, based on market need, The Ocean Cleanup chose to use the ghost nets only.
  4. Recycling: Now the plastic is recycled. Ghost nets require a more complex recycling process that includes sorting, shredding, washing and drying, and extrusion.
  5. Testing: At this step, the granulate is sent to an independent, accredited laboratory to verify it meets any regulatory requirements for the product in which it will be used.
  6. Material creation: In this step, stabilizers and pigments, embedded in a masterbatch, are added to meet requirements for manufacturing.
  7. Manufacturing: Now that the material is ready for manufacturing, a manufacturing partner creates a new, unique product for sale.
  8. Shipment to customers: This new, limited-edition product is shipped to supporters.
  9. In customers’ hands: The purchaser finally has the new product in their hands, ready to use and enjoy. And when they are done with it, it is designed to be recycled again to keep it out of the oceans.
  10. Reinvestment: Proceeds from the sale of the product then are reinvested in The Ocean Cleanup to continue collecting and recycling plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch into new products.
No one has yet created a new product from the plastics of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Ocean Cleanup and the Plastic Journey offer a hopeful future to change that and help solve the ocean plastic pollution problem. To read in more detail about the innovation of The Plastic Journey, click here.

July 3, 2020
Comar Announces New Healthcare Plastics Factory in Vineland, New Jersey
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Comar announced plans for a new 159,000 square foot factory
Comar, LLC., based in Vorhees, New Jersey, announced plans to build a new factory in Vineland, New Jersey. The manufacturer of healthcare plastic packaging, devices, and components said this new facility, expected to be completed by March 2021, will house over 159,000 square feet of manufacturing, storage, and warehouse space. The increased manufacturing space will be used for the company’s injection molding, assembly, and finishing operations for healthcare plastic devices.
 
The new factory will offer many benefits to customers and employees, leading to better efficiency, safety, and employee experiences. It will also be FDA registered, ISO 13486 certified for the manufacture of medical devices, and cGMP compliant with an improved cGMP environment and quality lab. To read more about the new facility, click here.
 
To learn more about the Injection Molding Specialists at Bryan Hauger Consulting, click here.
​Injection Molding Team
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