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The article reports on the initiatives of bag makers and resin companies to invest in bag-to-bag recycling operation. One is Hilex Poly Co. LLC of South Carolina which invested more than 20 million U.S. dollars to make old bags new again. The increase in plastic bag and film recycling between 2002 and 2012 is presented. The American Chemistry Council trade association reveals that wrap, bag and film recycling reached 972 million pounds in 2010.

Presents information on the results of the polyethylene (PE) film market study, conducted by Mastiogale. Growth in retail PE packaging market; Products included in retail PE packaging; Volume of PE resin used in the production of retail PE packaging; Impact of resin pricing and currency issues on retail packaging markets.

The article focuses on the use of calcium carbonate by plastic processors as plastic bag filler. Calcium carbonate acts as an extender ingredient in manufacturing plastic bag products such as can liners and T-shirt bags to reduce production costs and maximize product profit. The amount of fillers used in production varies depending on the application of the bag, its physical properties and how the bags are marketed.

Evaluates several products used in plastic extrusion. Steel-ribbed high-density polyethylene maker from Krauss-Maffei Corp.; Granulator feed rollers from Conair; Gauge-control ring from Kuhne GmbH; High-speed bag maker from Ro-An Industries Corp.

Focuses on the high quality and low cost grocery bags produced in China and exported to the U.S. Information on the complaint filed by North American film and bag producers on the alleged dumping of retail bags from China; Differences between the Chinese and U.S. bag-making operations; Background on Chinese bag makers; Importance of the lower cost of polyethylene resin supply in China; Abundance of labor supply in China.

The author expresses his views regarding the eruption of anti-plastics headlines in the news. He disagrees with the articles claiming that plastic bags have something to do with global warming and other negative information about plastics. He contacted the persons responsible for the article and told them that they should not publish stories without checking facts. He gave some resources that could give information to counter anti-plastics eruptions.

The article discusses the release of the Bio-Flex FX 1120 and FX 1130 thin compostable packaging films from the plastic manufacturer Fkur Kunststoff GmbH.

The article evaluates the LLDPE resin designed for the heavyduty sack (HDS) from NOVA Chemicals Corp., a plastics and chemical company.

The article discusses the factors behind the importance of drying and getting the moisture out of certain plastics prior to processing. It stresses that polyethylene-based plastic bags tend to draw moisture from the air, allowing the dried pellets inside them to pick up moisture. It adds that hygroscopic resins have a polar segment of atoms that attracts moisture as the latter is also a polar substance. It mentions that moisture in certain hygroscopic resins can lead to splay after processing.

The article reports on Wal-Mart's initiative of requiring its suppliers to reduce the amount of packaging used and utilize recycled materials in packaging their products. The company is set to introduce a Packaging Scorecard, an instrument to measure and rate its suppliers for their ability to reduce packaging materials, use recycled materials for packaging and source these materials efficiently. The initiative gives Wal-Mart a big influence over the use of plastics packaging on products it markets.

Presents information on the new models of bulk-bag dischargers from Flexicon Corp. BFC model; BFF model; Bag-Vac dust collector.