Oil and Water
I subscribe to a lot of packaging publications, and also monitor a lot of boating industry blogs and newsfeeds. Usually, the content of each has no overlap, but several times this month I’ve chuckled at the quirky things that have caught the attention of writers in both circles.
First, was a report by a team of international scientists that plastic packaging that ends up in the ocean is breaking down into poisonous chemical compounds at a faster rate than scientists thought it could. The gist of the headlines in both packaging and boating publications was that “plastic is biodegrading faster than we thought — and that’s a bad thing.” They cited styrofoam as a major offender, as well as a number of plastic products that are leaching Bisphenol A (BPA) into the oceans, and breaking down at temperatures as low as 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, was the attention paid to the announcement by the governing body of competitive swimming, FINA, regarding its decision to ban the 100% polyurethane swimwear that many (record-breaking) athletes wore at the recent World Championships. Apparently plastics professionals didn’t like the criticism of polyurethane, and boating enthusiasts don’t like the idea of technology alone determining the holders of world records.
The third — and most comical — flash of news came last week, when Missouri legislators inadvertendly banned polypropylene from Missouri waterways. The legislature had intended to ban polystyrene, which (as the scientists mentioned above would agree) is particularly bad for rivers, lakes and streams. Styrofoam used to float docks in Missouri was already subject to laws requiring it to be encapsulated, so as not to break down when it comes in contact with gasoline and other contaminants in the water. The new law intended to extend this ban to styrofoam coolers in canoes and pleasure boats, but in an effort to avoid the brand name, the law was incorrectly written to ban polypropylene (instead of polystyrene).