Assessing damage; powerful roofing contributions; France delays PS restrictions | Plastics News

It will take days — and more likely weeks — before the effects of Hurricane Helene are fully understood. In addition to storm surge and wind damage in Florida, the storm caused massive damage and flooding throughout Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.

High water levels in rivers and creeks are still flowing downstream, which means more floods may be on their way.

Plastics News will be following stories from the region, including reports that employees of Impact Plastics are among the dead or missing.

While it's fairly easy to understand how hurricanes in regions with extensive chemical and resin production facilities in Texas and Louisiana can cause ripple effects nationwide, the communities and companies in Southern Appalachia aren't as concentrated or focused on any specific industry. Outages of roads, bridges, power and cell service also means many regions are having problems making contact, meaning there's much we don't realize about the extent of the damage.

But there are some major manufacturers affected, and we should expect disruptions associated with those companies. Deerfield, Ill.-based medical supplier Baxter International Inc., in one example, says its North Cove facility in Marion, N.C. — its largest manufacturing site with 2,500 employees making dialysis products — was damaged.

"Ahead of the storm, Baxter implemented its hurricane preparedness plan, which included evacuation plans for colleagues, as well as proactively moving products to higher ground or secure storage where feasible," the company said in a Sept. 29 update. "The heavy rain and storm surge triggered a levee breach, which led to water permeating the site. The bridges accessing the site have also been damaged."

Baxter International Foundation has pledged to contribute $1.5 million toward relief efforts and is matching $2 to every $1 contributed by employees.

GAF has been supporting those in need for the past 13 years, providing roofing systems for 3,800 Habitat for Humanity building projects. Now it's also helping to power those homes, contributing 40 roofing systems featuring its GAF Energy Timberline Solar Energy Shingles for future Habitat builds.

"The solar-powered roofing system will make these homes more resilient, generate energy and be a long-term benefit to Habitat homeowners by helping to offset their energy costs," says Jeff Terry, vice president, corporate social responsibility and sustainability for GAF and a longtime Habitat volunteer.

GAF recently expanded production of its solar shingles — which can be installed alongside traditional roofing shingles — to Texas.

Timberline shingles are made with a durable photovoltaic panel surface with a flexible thermoplastic olefin backing.

About 50 GAF employees are expected to join Terry on a Habitat project near Minneapolis, where it has a shingle manufacturing facility.

While polystyrene foodservice ware is facing new restrictions in some regions of the U.S., France has eased a restriction on styrene products that would have begun in 2025.

However, the plastics industry still must show that polystyrene and other styrene products can meet recyclability requirements by 2030, our sister paper Sustainable Plastics writes.

Elipso, the French plastic packaging trade association, said the decision not to enforce the 2025 requirement is a "relief."

Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

Please enter a valid email address.

Please enter your email address.

Please verify captcha.

Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.