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VINYL ISSUES MANAGEMENT PROGRAM MEDIA MONITORING JULY 1993 A total of 149 articles were reviewed. The following is an analysis of the articles which were clipped by Bacon's Clipping Service, retrieved from Mead Data's Nexis/Lexis system or gleaned from in-house monitoring. TONE 81 percent positive 4 percent neutral 15 percent negative TOPICS Vinyl uses, qualities, etc. References to VI, etc. Vinyl and the environment Technology of vinyl recycling Technology of plastics recycling Economics of recovery/re-use 71 percent 11 percent 7 percent 5 percent 4 percent 2 percent PRIMARY PUBLICATION AUDIENCE Opinion leaders, general public Other trades Plastics industry Waste collectors, recyclers Packagers, retailers Legislators, regulators Scientists, researchers Environmentalists Government solid waste managers CONCLUSIONS 58 percent 13 percent 12 percent 11 percent 4 percent 1 percent 1 percent 0 percent 0 percent July's media monitoring shows 81 percent of the articles receiving positive coverage and 15 percent receiving negative coverage -- an increase from previous months. News clips on vinyl's uses and qualities continue to represent the largest percentage of coverage, with stories ranging from the use of vinyl pipes in fish attractors simulating brush piles to the use of recycled vinyl in plastic sheeting used for bulkheads in Long Beach Township, New Jersey. Articles receiving negative coverage pertained to issues such as Greenpeace's campaign to eliminate PVC, dioxin and incineration, and deselection in the packaging industry. Stories referencing the Vinyl Institute made up the second largest segment of clips reviewed with a majority of the articles covering the Directory ofCompanies Manufacturing Products From Recycled Vinyl and the post-consumer recycling rate study by R.W. Beck & Associates. CTL006580 2- - SIGNIFICANT COVERAGE Recycling Times, July 27, 1993 -- An overview article on seven companies who have commercialized or are testing automated sortation devices. The processes discussed include X-ray sorting, which detects the chlorine atom in PVC bottles; a near-infrared resin identification camera, which determines bottle color and opacity; a combination X-ray and infrared scanning device, which detects four different resins; water surface tension detection system; selective dissolution system, which separates resins depending on their respective dissolving thresholds; and a near-infrared light using neural networks, which determines the characteristics of resins. The article notes that these systems are not without processing "glitches," but in the long-run are helping plastics to be totally automated in sorting. Prepared Foods, July 1993, and Packaging Digest, July 1993 -- Two articles that feature a new line of salsa products for Jimenez Foods of Dallas. The salsa jars, made with a new resin by Occidental Chemical and supplied by Northwestern Bottle Company, are made from the first type of vinyl that can withstand a heat threshold of 195 degrees F. According to the article, Jimenez Foods chose the new material because it provides clarity and barrier properties against moisture and oxygen and it wanted a clear, wide mouthed container that would stand out from existing salsa products on store shelves. Financial Times, July 12, 1993 -- A general article regarding Belgium's eco-tax which, if passed, would force consumers to switch to products that have a less damaging effect on the environment. As the article indicates, the plastics and chemicals industries are against the tax because "PVC bottles are the only product which will automatically be taxed the maximum 15 fiances a liter in a bid to gradually abolish PVC production altogether." As a result of complaints, a follow-up commission was formed to examine the impact of the tax. The article also notes that Belgian packaging users, manufacturers and raw producers are developing an alternative packaging waste reduction program called Fost-Plus. This system is based on Germany's Dual-System scheme and would require distributors to pay a levy into a government fund which would go back into industry-run waste management programs. At the least, the plastics industry hopes the European Commission will object to the discriminatory clause against PVC, according to Nancy Rusotto of the Association of Plastic Manufacturers in Europe (APME). VI Coverage for the reporting period included: Letter to the Editor bv Robert H. Burnett Maine Times, July 30, 1993 (Re: Tellus Study) Salina Journal, July 6, 1993 (Re: Health & safety effects of PVC pipe) Post-Consumer Recycling Rate Study (R.W. Beck) Plastics Week, June 21, 1993 Solid Waste Report, June 24, 1993 Recycling Today, July 1993 CTL006581 ( I' -3- Directory of Companies Manufacturing Products From Recycled Vinvl - Second Edition Recycled Products Business Letter, August 1993 Hardware Age, July 1993 Packaging, July 1993 MSW Management, July/August 1993 Recycling Times, July 27, 1993 RFP (Tool Pool) Solid Waste & Power, June 1993 VI Member Companies Respond to Greenpeace's Dioxin Factories Green Market Alert, July 1993 VI/VERCE Listing IAPD Magazine (Association of Plastics Distributors), June/July 1993 Safety Awards Plastics News, July 12, 1993 Envirothene/Vinvl Institute Agreement Food Engineering, June 1993 Second Tier Recycling Chemical Marketing Reporter, June 28, 1993 ii ii /I tWtt CTL006582