FEATURES
By DALLAS MORNING NEWS | March 20, 1998
Say happy anniversary to that snow-white cup that holds your morning coffee.This year marks 50 years of consumer use of polystyrene foam -- Styrofoam.It's hard to believe that people once made do without foam egg cartons, coolers, craft balls, picnic cups ...Styrofoam was invented in 1941, when World War II was raging and American scientists were scurrying to develop synthetic rubber. A Dow Chemical engineer, Ray McIntire, tried foaming plastic polystyrene, and got a rigid material instead of a rubbery one. But it was also light and buoyant.
BUSINESS
By Sean Somerville and Sean Somerville,SUN STAFF | December 4, 1996
Sweetheart Cup Co., a major Baltimore County employer that said last summer it was considering a public stock offering and merger offers, will remain a privately held, independent company.Daniel M. Carson, Sweetheart's vice president and general counsel, said the company had held "substantive discussions" with prospective investors whom he would not identify. But he said Sweetheart's board of directors decided last month against a sale or public stock offering."With continuing success in the execution of our business plan, our ownership expects the value of our company to increase and that Sweetheart will strengthen its leadership position in the industry," the company said in a statement issued in response to questions about its future.
BUSINESS
By Kim Clark | March 28, 1991
A Jessup factory has started producing a new kind of whit packaging "peanut" that dissolves in water, can be composted into fertilizer and can even be eaten, though the makers don't recommend them as a dining experience.Art Buckingham, Maryland branch manager for American Excelsior Co., said yesterday that the corn starch-based "Eco-Foam" pellets are an alternative to standard white polystyrene foam "peanuts." The company, based in Arlington, Texas, is one of the nation's biggest producers of plastic packaging materials, he said.
NEWS
December 24, 1990
PolystyreneEditor: This is in response to Pat Williams' Dec. 4 letter regarding the health hazards of polystyrene foam. While styrene has been produced synthetically since 1930, it is also a naturally occurring substance that has been known since the time of the ancient Greeks.It is present in small amounts in hundreds of foodstuffs -- milk, fruit, vegetables, nuts, coffee, beer and many other foods eaten every day. In addition, styrene is regulated by the FDA as a flavoring agent in certain foods.
FEATURES
By Los Angeles Times | November 11, 1990
Environmental and industry officials say that McDonald's Corp.'s recent decision to switch from plastic or foam packaging to paper for most items will bring pressure on other fast-food chains to follow suit."
NEWS
By Dianne Williams Hayes and Dianne Williams Hayes,Staff writer | October 17, 1990
Milk cartons are about the only thing county school officials have not found a way to reuse in an aggressive recycling plan announced Monday after months of prodding by students.Lunch-time protests at South River Senior urging the board to get rid of polystyrene lunch trays and presentations by elementary and high school students at board meetings last school year did not fall on deaf ears.Monday night, school board members listened to a self-supporting recycling plan that Assistant Supervisor of Operations Walter F. George said is the most aggressive in the state.