A Sabic resin has developed far enough to make people consider using it as a replacement for wooden chopsticks.

Everyday, across Japan, millions of disposable wooden chopsticks are discarded after every meal. Now, Sanshin Kako, one of the country’s leading professional-use tableware manufacturers, is using Sabic Innovative Plastics’ high-performance Valox iQ 420 HP resin to deliver a more environmentally responsible product contributing to the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.
Not only do Sanshin Kako’s plastic chopsticks conserve natural resources, but each kilogramme of this resin uses up to .87 kg of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, which would otherwise sit in the landfill.
“These chopsticks are available in vivid, custom colours, offer a smooth surface as compared to easily splintered wood, and represent Sabic Innovative Plastics’ commitment to the global development of new technologies that help their customers overcome today’s environmental challenges,” the plastic maker said.

Glazing
As automakers move towards the broader adoption of lightweight polycarbonate glazing materials to assist with fuel economy improvement and CO2 emissions reduction, Sabic Innovative Plastics is offering answers to new design and manufacturing challenges facing automotive engineers.
“Through its Exatec automotive glazing organisation, a range of custom solutions are available which provide OEM’s and Tier-1 suppliers with the broadest range of automotive glazing technologies,” it said recently.
“This includes new research into the best part design approach for optimum coating performance.”
Sabic Innovative Plastics cited a study recently completed at its Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, Glazing Centre of Excellence, which revealed the effect of different transition profiles (where the clear polycarbonate window meets the opaque “black-out” material) on the surface quality of silicone hard-coated parts.
“The results were generated using a new panoramic roof prototype tool and indicated the best transition designs for suppliers to implement, which will achieve higher quality appearance and better manufacturing yields for wet-coated and plasma-coated exterior surfaces.”