Italian trade association Assocomaplast (Milan; www.assocomaplast.org) and its 400 members operating in the plastics and rubber industry has joined environmental protection programme "Operation Clean Sweep" (OCS; www.opcleansweep.org). Launched by US organisations the American Chemistry Council (ACC, Washington DC; www.americanchemistry.com) and the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI, Washington DC; www.plasticsindustry.org), OCS sets out guidelines for reducing the accidental loss of plastic pellets, powders and flakes that occur during the manufacture of plastic articles.

Although discarded plastic packing, which often ends up polluting seas and oceans, is mostly attributed to consumers’ bad habits, another part of the problem is the release of plastic pellets from the production process that also end up as waste. OCS requires various players in the polymer chain, such as producers, transporters, storage operators and processing firms, to adopt a number of best practices. These include signing a formal commitment to making zero pellet loss a priority, as well as upgrading facilities and equipment and establishing compulsory operating procedures.

Assocomaplast joined the OCS programme during the “K 2016” trade fair held in Düsseldorf / Germany, from 19-26 October. In June this year, German plastic packaging industry association Industrievereinigungen Kunststoffverpackungen (IK, Bad Homburg; www.kunststoffverpackungen.de) said 37 of its members had been certified under the "Zero Pellet Loss" initiative (see Plasteurope.com of 24.06.2016). The China Processing Industry Association (CPPIA, Beijing, www.cppia.com.cn) is also a member of OCS (see Plasteurope.com of 10.06.2015).