Issue No. 15     |     June 3, 2025

This Week:

🌟 Now Open: PLASTICS Leadership Nominations

♻️ New Milestone in Recycling Innovation

🏠 Strong Housing Market Signals Growth for  Plastics 

👷 Workforce Availability Tracker

🏛️ State Policy Snapshot

🙌 From Admin to Industry Leader

📅 Mark Your Calendar

🌟 Now Open: PLASTICS Leadership Nominations

Why it matters:
PLASTICS thrives when members like you get involved. Your participation helps ensure our leadership reflects the full diversity, expertise, and vision of the industry. These roles directly shape the future of the association—and the plastics community as a whole.

Open roles at a glance:

• Industry Segment Councils:
  Each of the three councils—Equipment, Material Suppliers, and Processors—will elect new voting representatives. Meeting in person twice per year, the councils... Learn more

• Board of Directors:
  Each Industry Segment Council elects eight representatives to the Board of Directors, and like the Councils, the Board of Directors meets in person twice per year. The Board of Directors is responsible for... Learn more

• Officers of the Board:
  The Board of Directors elects a total of six Officers, two from each Industry Segment. The Officers serve as the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and are responsible for high-level oversight and... Learn more

• Public Policy Committee (PPC):
  The PPC is a tactical committee that reports directly to the Board of Directors. This group oversees the formulation of policy and position recommendations for... Learn more

• Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB):
  The SAB is a tactical committee that reports directly to the Board of Directors. The SAB determines how the association executes the strategic vision of creating a sustainable plastics industry to... Learn more

What’s next:
Nominations are open now through June 27. You can nominate yourself or a colleague.

👉 To access the nomination form, click here.

♻️ New Milestone in Recycling Innovation

PLASTICS CEO Matt Seaholm and Andy Brewer, Director of Sustainability & Recycling, joined NOVA Chemicals this week to celebrate the launch of SYNDIGO1—one of the world’s largest polyethylene film mechanical recycling facilities.

🧃 Why it matters:
SYNDIGO1 offers real, scalable solutions for plastic film recycling—repurposing 145,000 bales annually into 110M pounds of recycled polyethylene.

🏭 The impact:

• 125 U.S. jobs created

• FDA + GreenBlue certified

• Fully operational by late 2025

• Supplying high-quality recycled resin to key packaging sectors

👉 To read the full article click here. 

🏠 Strong Housing Market Signals Growth for Plastics

Why it matters:
Housing is a bellwether for the plastics industry. From pipes and insulation to siding and windows, residential construction drives demand across the entire plastics value chain. Even amid market fluctuations, underlying housing demand remains solid.

By the numbers:

• $6.7B in plastics used in single-family home construction in 2023

• Remodeling market: $127B annually and rising

• Plastics output tracks 81% with construction supplies production

Between the lines:
While new home sales and housing starts remain choppy, remodeling is picking up—and that’s good news for plastics. With tariffs looming and mortgage rates still high, domestic plastics producers have a strategic opportunity to fill supply gaps and meet demand across both new builds and home upgrades.

👉 Read Dr. Pineda’s full analysis on the PLASTICS blog

👷 Workforce Availability Tracker

The PLASTICS Workforce Availability Tracker helps you find the data you need—fast.

What it is:
An interactive tool that breaks down employment trends by region and NAICS code. It’s designed to help members connect with state workforce programs and respond to labor shifts.

Why it matters:
✅ Stay ahead of hiring challenges
✅ Understand workforce trends across the U.S.
✅ Strengthen your business case for recruitment, retention, or expansion

Use it to:
✔️ Inform HR and staffing strategy
✔️ Target workforce development resources
✔️ Back up grant applications and policy outreach

👉 To explore the tracker click here.

🏛️  State Policy Snapshot

From packaging and recycling to producer responsibility, state legislatures across the country are advancing key bills that could shape the future of plastics policy. Here's a quick look at recent activity in California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

📍 California
As previously reported, CalRecycle released the informal SB54 draft rules and held a public informal rulemaking workshop earlier this week. The majority of much of the discussion was focused on...

📍 Colorado

Upcoming important EPR regulatory dates:

• July 1 – Producer registration deadline (also the registration deadline for Minnesota)
• July 31 – Reporting deadline for 2024 data.

👉 To read the full May 30 update click here.

🙌 From Admin to Industry Leader: Alana Carr’s Career in Plastics

Why it matters:

Alana Carr’s career path highlights how exposure, mentorship, and professional development can open long-term opportunities in plastics. Her journey shows how young professionals are stepping into leadership roles across the industry.

Her path:

Alana joined Hosokawa Alpine American as an administrative assistant and steadily advanced into a strategic role overseeing sales quotes, order management, and marketing. She also pursued advance coursework in polymer and plastics engineering at UMass Lowell.

Industry leadership:

Today, Alana co-chair of the Emerging Leadership Council for the Flexible Packaging Association and is an active member of PLASTICS’ Future Leaders in Plastics (FLiP). She recently joined the FLiP mentorship program to continue building connections and knowledge across the sector.

Why it matters to members:

Programs like FLiP help early-career professionals engage with the broader industry and build the networks and skills needed for long-term success.

👉 Read Alana’s full story on the PLASTICS blog

👉 To learn more about Future Leaders in Plastics (FLiP), click here.

📆 Mark Your Calendar

📅 FLiP Book Club – June 6, 2–3 PM ET | Join us for a virtual discussion on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. Open to FLiP-eligible members, this session explores trust, accountability, and what it really takes to build strong, collaborative teams.👉 Register here

🎧 Government Affairs biweekly calls begin June 17 to share policy updates, align on advocacy strategy, gather member input, and more. These 1-hour calls are open to government relations leads at member companies. Click here to sign up.

📋 NPE2027: The Plastics Show | Exhibit space applications open August 12. To be notified when applications go live click here. The NPE2027 Space Selection & Planning Event will be held in Orlando, FL, March 2–6, 2026.

♻️ Save the Date: Recycling Open House is happening virtually on August 13 and 20. Trade associations and organizations will share how they’re tackling recycling challenges in the plastics industry — registration opens at the end of June.

📣 Registration now open for the National Plastics Conference — the

exclusive event built by industry, for industry — returning to Orlando, FL, this

September 22–25, 2025.

🌐 OCS CON 2025 | October 15–17 | Indianapolis, IN. Registration open for OCS Blue and OCS Logistics members only. Hosted by Operation Clean Sweep®, this event brings together the plastics value chain to advance efforts to eliminate plastic resin loss to the environment. Early bird registration opens to everyone June 13.