Founded in 1937,
The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States.
SPI's members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain in the US, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The US plastics industry employs 1.1 million workers and provides more than $379 billion in annual shipments (2006).
SPI produces the triennial global trade show
NPE, one of the world's largest and most important plastics industry events.
SPI publishes significant statistical reports on the U.S. plastics industry, including:
SPI also publishes plastics industry
data sheets for every state in the USA.
SPI introduced its
Resin Identification CodeThe SPI resin identification coding system is a set of symbols placed on plastics to identify the polymer type. It was developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry in 1988, and is used internationally....
in 1988 at the urging of recyclers around the country. This system was introduced to make separation of the many similar-appearing plastic resin types easier for recycling centers across the country. There was no federal legislation or program to mandate these symbols, though many states have now adopted legislation that mandate its use.
Bioplastics Council
SPI announced the launch of a new special interest group, the Bioplastics Council, in order to provide a forum for resin and additive suppliers, as well as processors and equipment suppliers, to promote the development of bioplastics as an integral part of the plastics industry. The six founding member companies of the new group are
ArkemaArkema is a French producer of chemicals headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France.Created in 2004 when French oil major Total restructured its Chemicals business, Arkema has 14,000 employees in more than 40 countries, seven research centers worldwide, and a total of 80 production plants in...
,
BASFBASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
Corporation,
CereplastCereplast Inc. is a bioplastics designer and manufacturer. Cereplast uses corn, tapioca, potatoes and algae, including polylactic acid polymer , to produce compostable plastic resins designed to serve as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics...
Inc.,
DuPontE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, NatureWorks LLC and
TellesTelles is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae.-References:*...
(a Metabolix/
ADMThe Archer Daniels Midland Company is a conglomerate headquartered in Decatur, Illinois. ADM operates more than 270 plants worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial and animal feed markets worldwide.ADM was named the...
joint ventureA joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
) .
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