Plastics converters complain to EU over Italy bag ban

(ICIS) -- Italians are preparing to find alternative means of carrying home their shopping following the introduction of a new law which bans the use of non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags, but the plan is not without its difficulties, sources said on Tuesday.


The law, which came into effect on 1 January 2011, allows shops to give existing stocks to their customers free of charge, but consumers can no longer expect to get a free bag once these are depleted.


The move has been welcomed by environmental groups, like Legambiente, which estimates that plastic bag usage has reached 300 per capita annually in Italy, or about a fifth of the 100bn plastic bags used annually across Europe, according to business publication Environmental Leader.


Sources estimate the Italian plastic bag industry to be using between 200,000 and 250,000 tonnes/year of polyethylene (PE) - low density PE (LDPE), high density PE (HDPE) and linear low density PE (LLDPE).


When Ireland levied a 15 euro cent tax on single-use plastic bags in 2002, bag usage fell immediately by more than 90%, from an annual level of 328 plastic bags per capita to just 21. By 2007, per capita consumption had risen to 31 a year, and the tax was lifted again, to 22 euro cents.


Referring to the Italian legislation, the country's Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said: ⌠This marks a step forward in the fight against pollution and it makes us all more responsible in terms of recycling.


MRC

Mexichem names new managing director

(Plastics News) -- Mexichem SAB de CV, Latin America's largest manufacturer of PVC pipe, vinyl resins and compounds, named Rafael Davalos as its managing director Jan. 21.


He replaces Ricardo Gutierrez, who has been appointed company president. Gutierrez will be responsible for ⌠everything related to the Mexican consortium's strategy of expansion across the world, a company statement said.


Mexichem said the changes will allow it to ⌠consolidate its strategy of global expansion and growth.


In October it announced net sales of 26.9 billion pesos ($2.157 billion) in the first three quarters of the year, up 19.4 percent compared to the same period in 2009.


This month it completed and closed the purchase of Princeton, N.J.-based Rockwood Holdings Inc's AlphaGary compounding business for $300 million.


MRC

Belarus PET firm plans new ┬120m bottle plant

(PRW) -- Belarus plastics producer Mogilevkhimvolokno plans to strengthen its PET business through the construction and launch of a new 120,000 tpa bottle grade PET polymer plant by 2015.


Mogilevkhimvolokno (Mogilev), the chemicals subsidiary of the country's Minsk-based state oil and chemicals group Belneftekhim, aims to expand and upgrade its PET production and polymer exports. The firm already operates an existing 80,000 tpa polycondensation plant but its PET does not meet today's global quality standards.


The ┬120m PET project covers the purchase and installation of the plant's equipment to make bottle grade PET from PTA, combined with post-polycondensation, that will ensure polymer production bypassing the stages of pelletising and post-polycondensation at the SSP plant.


Other Mogilev products include DMT, polyester resins, ADMT plasticisers, aromatic polyester polyols and biodiesel fuel.


MRC

Taiwan's Formosa and South Korea's LG Chem buy more than 200,000T for March

(Reuters) -- Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp and South Korea's LG Chem have in total snapped up at least 200,000 tonnes of naphtha for first-half March delivery, supporting a market marked by steady demand and tight supplies.


Formosa, Asia's top naphtha buyer, bought around 150,000 tonnes at premiums of about $4.00 a tonne to Japan spot quotes on a cost-and-freight basis, while LG Chem purchased 50,000-75,000 tonnes at premiums of about $6.00 a tonne to the same price formula.


Traders say that LG Chem was initially seeking four cargoes totalling 100,000 tonnes, but failed to buy all the volumes they were seeking.


"The market is still grappling with tight supplies, especially for naphtha with high paraffinic content," said another trader.


MRC

Asia ACN may hit $2,500/tonne on tight supply

(ICIS) -- Dwindling supply and rising costs of feedstock propylene (C3) may soon push Asian acrylonitrile (ACN) prices to $2,500/tonne (┬1,825/tonne), the highest level since May 2010, industry sources said on Tuesday.


Spot ACN prices were last assessed at $2,380-2,420/tonne CFR northeast (NE) Asia and at $2,400-2,450/tonne CFR India on 21 January 2011, according to ICIS data.


In May last year, prices were at $2,400-2,450/tonne CFR NE Asia and at $2,450-2,500/tonne CFR India, ICIS data showed.


⌠The customers may have no choice but to pay $2,500/tonne if they need to secure any cargo as supply is very tight, said a trader.


China and India are major importers of ACN, the feedstock used in the production of acrylic fibre (AF), which is used in clothing and home furnishings, such as carpets, upholstery, cushions and blankets.


China imported 42,000 tonnes of ACN in December 2010, more than 40% of which were secured from the US Gulf, according to Chinese traders. India imports around 10,000 tonnes of ACN each month.


MRC