Geosynthetics Protecting the Environment

1. Geosynthetics Protecting the Environment

2. Geosynthetics Protecting the Environment http://www.layfieldgeosynthetics.com/pages/PublilcRelations/EnvironmentalPractices.aspx

3. Why Are We Here Today? • To talk with you about the important contributions of the plastics industry to: • The Canadian economy • Our modern way of life • The Canadian environment • How plastics protect us; help conserve our resources; protect the environment; and are helping shape the future. • To ask for your support of programs to enable the industry to continue to make positive contributions

4. Plastics: Economic Engine of Canada • Generate $31 Billion in revenues • Over $8 billion in exports • 95% Canadian-owned • Plastics is the largest manufacturing employer • Directly employs close to 115,000 Canadians • 6 of the top 10 mould makers in North America are Canadian

5. Plastics: Protect – Medical Advances • Many of today’s essential medical aids are made from or use some form of plastic – stethoscopes, IV bags, casts, and life-saving electronic equipment such as incubators, heart monitors and defibrillators • New plastic devices are reducing the costs of, as well as the need for multiple surgeries • Life-saving plastics are used for robotic hands, knee and hip replacements, artificial cornea, tendons, and hundreds of other life saving medical procedures

6. Plastics: Enabling Exploration of New Frontiers • Canadarm is a carbon fibre thermoplastic composite, light-weight but strong, to withstand huge doses of radiation during in-space repairs • Ablative plastics are used on the U.S. space shuttle heat shield to protect the shuttle from incineration as it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere • Stealth navel defence vessels made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic mean ships go undetected by radar and sonar – ghost ships • Uses a carbon composite sandwich construction - of plastic materials (Kevlar, glass, PVC) - 30% weight reduction of hull

7. Plastics: Enabling Leaps in Design and Imagination • Versatile plastics have enabled many advances in electronics, transportation, clothing apparel, furniture, and home construction and decor. • From touch screen technology, diagnostic food packaging, and composite plastic bridges, to even the Lycra ® used in athletic clothing which enables enhanced movement and shape retention • Plastics have forever changes our lives 

8. Plastics: Protect - Keep Us Safe • At home, at work, on the road or on the rink, plastics keep us safe • Firefighters wear fire-retardant Nomex® protective clothing - resists temperatures up to 350 degrees C • Police use Kevlar®bulletproof vests; athletes wear protective padding; doctors and nurses wear plastic gloves • Hard plastic helmets have significantly reduced the incidence of brain injury and concussion in children playing sports

9. Plastics: Conserving Resources • The use of plastic exterior foam insulation on all houses in Canada would reduce GHG emissions by 3 million tonnes a year (equivalent to 700,000 vehicles being taken off the road each year) • Replacing corroded, leaky pipes in municipal water distribution systems with plastic pipes helps prevent water loss- wastage estimated to be as high as 30%. Plastic pipes do not corrode and will deliver leak free pipes for 100 years

10. Plastics: Protecting the Environment • Lighter cars and lighter planes mean less fuel consumption and fewer greenhouse gases • 11-15% of cars are now plastic – this saves 3.3 billion litres of fuel a year • 50% of the Boeing 787 is constructed of polymer composite plastic which saves 30% of the plane’s fuel • This results in cheaper fares and less pollution

11. Plastics: Enabling Green Energy • Wind and solar power are alternative sources of energy being used to fight climate change and help transition to a low-carbon economy • Plastics are key components in large wind turbines; the only material able to withstand the mechanical stress placed on large rotor blades • Solar radiation is emerging as a major component of global energy strategies. Solar cells would not be possible without the help of plastics

12. Plastics: Doing More With Less • Plastic saves more resources than it uses - plastic packaging protects against food wastage – wastage levels drop from 50% in developing countries with no plastic packaging to 3% in Canada • Plastics is the most efficient packaging material – a lower product to package weight ratio – just 3 g of packaging to 100 g of food - minimizing the amount of material used means less energy used in manufacture and in transport; translates to fewer greenhouse gas emissions • Sophisticated diagnostic packaging can detect the presence of bacteria in food and alert the consumer through a warning system incorporated in the package

13. Plastics: An Industry at a Crossroads • Shipments of plastics products have declined more than 22% over last year • China is displacing Canada as the largest exporter of plastics products to the United States • Plastics jobs are being exported to lower-cost markets • High-cost countries like France, Austria and Australia are also actively pursuing plastics investment, unlike Canada • Shopping more attractive R&D tax credits to lure Canadian companies • Anti-plastic attacks are increasing, and are having an impact on the competitiveness of the industry. • Packaging has been targeted; ignoring lifestyle, health and safety implications - - often not based on fact or science • Becoming an obstacle to future growth

14. What Can You Do To Help? • DEVELOP A STRONGER INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY • Learn more about our industry, and its positive contributions • Help create a more welcoming business environment for jobs • Champion globally competitive R&D tax credits • When considering restrictive legislation, ask for the scientific facts and remember the positive contributions of the industry • Welcome the plastics industry to your constituency and regularly invite our opinion on obstacles to and opportunities for growth and investment in your community

15. What Can You Do To Help? • EXPAND RECYCLING PROGRAMS & Energy Conservation • Build a strong recycling infrastructure for plastics • Remember that recycling plastics creates jobs locally, and attracts other plastics processors to the neighborhood, as well as keeping processors competitive • Remember that recycling plastics is good for the environment, the local community, and the image of your constituency • Energy recovery of residual plastics is a source of energy

16. In Summary • Plastics represent a major economic driver based on innovation and economic development • Plastics industry creates good, well paying jobs • Light weight plastics carry huge environmental benefits • We are committed to working with you and others