The Plastics Industry Association (Plastics, Washington, D.C. / USA; www.plasticsindustry.org) is undergoing some changes in management. Patty Long, who served as interim president and CEO until Tony Radoszewski took the helm – see Plasteurope.com of 02.08.2019 – is no longer listed on Plastics’ website as chief operating officer. Another notable absence is Mia Quinn, VP communications, who also presumably departed from her key role in the association. It is unclear if and when these positions are to be filled.

The association only said it recently made staff and organisation changes to “better align our team with the company’s vision and mission” on top of “maximising the value proposition to our members.” It added that Plastics continues to rely on its members for “insight and involvement” in the efforts to support the US plastics industry’s growth.

Plastics has seen the departure of several industry giants in the past year, including Coca-Cola, General Motors, PepsiCo and SC Johnson – see Plasteurope.com of 14.11.2019. The companies’ decisions to stop supporting Plastics was due in part to the association’s lobbying to oppose bans on plastics, such as through the then-named American Progressive Bag Alliance.

At the end of January 2020, it was renamed the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance (ARPBA, Washington, D.C.; www.bagalliance.org), along with plastic bag manufacturers signing a sustainability commitment that includes increasing the recycled content in plastic retail bags to 10% by 2021, 15% by 2023 and 20% by 2025. The alliance has been criticised by Greenpeace as undermining progress on plastics pollution by actively lobbying against plastic bag bans and taxes across the US.