PlasticsToday

09/16/2026

Mark your calendars! September 21-25, 2026, Jacob Beningo will lead Edge Vision with OpenMV: AI Processing on the New N6 & AE3 Boards, a five-day course that brings real-time AI vision to embedded systems.

Discover how the OpenMV N6 and AE3 boards leverage Cortex-M55 cores and dedicated neural processors to run YOLOv8 object detection at real-time speeds.

Learn the complete development workflow in MicroPython—from frame capture and model conversion to training custom detectors.

Reserve your spot now! Link: https://event.on24.com/wcc/mr/6954809/7D8E3A62B4624345D00AF7AD2E4E6693?partnerref=Facebook_01

09/10/2026

Canada's retaliatory tariffs against the US took effect this week, impacting hundreds of goods, including steel, aluminum, appliances, and a range of plastic products. The move marks a significant escalation in trade tensions between the two nations, with no discussions emerging between the countries regarding trade matters. Perc Pineda, PhD, chief economist of the PLASTICS (Plastics Industry Association), highlighted the impact on the plastics industry.

Two weeks ago, the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 50% on Canadian products valued at $27.6 billion, escalating friction between the bordering nations. The Canadian response targets key sectors of the US economy, with the plastics industry among those caught in the crossfire. Check out our coverage here: https://www.plasticstoday.com/legislation-regulations/canada-s-tariffs-on-us-plastics-take-effect

09/04/2026

GE Appliances, a Haier company, and the IUE-CWA union have announced a transformative $1 billion investment to expand high-output production of laundry products at Appliance Park in Louisville, KY, reinforcing the company's long-term commitment to US manufacturing.

Check out GE's video here, and visit PlasticsToday.com for our coverage: https://www.plasticstoday.com/business/ge-appliances-invests-1-billion-in-kentucky-manufacturing

08/28/2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney this week announced that Canada will implement dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on approximately $20 billion worth of US goods. This move comes after President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs last weekend on Canadian goods, following the collapse of trade negotiations.

Check out our coverage: https://www.plasticstoday.com/legislation-regulations/canada-imposes-tariffs-on-us-molds-plastic-products

08/28/2026

US manufacturing has demonstrated encouraging growth in 2026, a significant development for the plastics industry, which relies heavily on manufacturing as its primary customer. In a video blog for PlasticsToday, PLASTICS (Plastics Industry Association) Chief Economist Perc Pineda, PhD explains that the Industrial Production Index reveals six consecutive monthly gains through July, with manufacturing up 1.3 percent year over year. Check out the video here:

Manufacturing shows six months of gains, concentrated in transportation, defense, and AI sectors where plastics are essential inputs.

08/24/2026

In an interview with PlasticsToday, Jason Glisczynski, founder of Silvertree, a wealth management firm specializing in manufacturing business owners, discusses some critical blind spots that can undermine even the most successful operations — and the proactive strategies that separate thriving manufacturers from those caught unprepared when disruption strikes. He points out that plastics manufacturing owners must strategically balance reinvestment in sustainability and automation while building personal wealth outside their businesses to weather industry disruptions.

Check out our coverage: https://www.plasticstoday.com/industry-trends/plastics-manufacturers-must-balance-growth-with-personal-wealth-protection

08/07/2026

The European Union's sweeping Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) takes effect next month, imposing comprehensive sustainability requirements on all packaging placed on the EU market — including medical devices and pharmaceutical products that demand sterile barriers and rigorous safety standards. With the deadline just weeks away, healthcare packaging manufacturers face immediate documentation requirements and a complex timeline of escalating targets extending through 2040. Paige Greenberg, a packaging specialist at Plastic Ingenuity, has been working with healthcare companies to understand and prepare for PPWR's multifaceted requirements. She told PlasticsToday the company has developed a specialized PPWR toolkit specifically addressing the unique challenges of thermoform healthcare packaging, which must simultaneously meet sustainability targets while maintaining the sterility, biocompatibility, and regulatory approvals required by bodies like the FDA.

Check out our exclusive coverage here: https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/healthcare-packaging-faces-eu-sustainability-reckoning

08/07/2026

President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation establishing minimum import prices and a 15% tariff on polysilicon and its derivative products, citing national security concerns and decades of erosion in US manufacturing capacity for the critical material that underpins both semiconductor and solar power supply chains. What does this mean for the plastics industry?

Check out our coverage here: https://www.plasticstoday.com/legislation-regulations/trump-imposes-tariffs-to-revive-us-polysilicon-industry

08/05/2026

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was close, as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement on the critical waterway that could ease pressure on the global economy and potentially help bring an end to the war. Potential reopening of critical waterway could lower oil prices, strengthen risk assets, and shift currency markets globally. Convera analysts Kevin Ford and George Vessey discussed the ramifications for the plastics industry with PlasticsToday.

Check out our coverage: https://www.plasticstoday.com/resin-pricing/iran-and-oman-near-deal-to-reopen-strait-of-hormuz-as-oil-prices-fall-and-markets-price-in-lower-risk

07/31/2026

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Colorado's Extended Producer Responsibility packaging law on constitutional grounds. Colorado is the third state to have its EPR law tested in court, joining California and Oregon. Eric Hoplin, president and CEO of NAW, said the group’s overall challenge remains the same: No state should limit interstate commerce, nor should they delegate power to set and collect fees to a third party outside the scope of public scrutiny.

Read our coverage to find out more about this legal move:https://www.plasticstoday.com/legislation-regulations/naw-sues-colorado-over-plastic-packaging-epr-law