It's hard to believe it was just last March that COVID-19 took hold in our state. This past year has taken a physical, mental and emotional toll on so many. In spite of and through those challenges, communities came together, leaders created solutions and there have been so many inspiring stories from Pennsylvania - particularly from the state's chemical industry. 

Of course, we may be biased, so we'll let their work and generous acts over the last year tell the story and others share their thoughts. 

RAMPING UP PRODUCTION

From disinfectants and wipes to ventilators, test tubes and vaccines, chemicals are the building blocks, and chemistry the starting point, for almost every product used to manage COVID-19. Pennsylvania ranks eighth nationally in manufacturing, with chemicals as the top sector. This industry exports $8.9 billion annually in manufactured goods, supplying the regional, national and global healthcare markets.

In March 2020, amid the closure of nonessential businesses, Pennsylvania’s chemical manufacturers pressed play on company crisis action plans, increased production and retrofitted operations to meet the demand for disinfectants and to provide hospitals and health care workers with the medical equipment and intensive care tools needed to treat patients.

In March and April, employees of Braskem, a global petrochemical company, voluntarily lived on-site at their Marcus Hook facility for 28 days, working around the clock to manufacture polypropylene and produce nonwoven fabric to help meet the demand for N95 masks, hospital gowns, hoods and sanitary wipes.

With supplies for disinfectants scarce, Pressure Chemical Co. in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania engaged in several discussions with the Allegheny Health Network to reserve operations scheduling to be on-call for potential sanitizer manufacturing demands, and supplied products to local distilleries in a collaborative effort to increase the region’s sanitizer supply. The company also ramped up production of thermochromic products it supplies for disposable thermometers to help meet the demand for these units.

How can we do more with less?

That question is not about reducing costs, it’s about how we can use less resources, while still maintaining the quality of life to which we are accustomed.  

Plastic products play a significant role in our daily lives -- both with the products we physically touch and utilize and those at work behind the scenes. Increasingly, these products are also playing an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and our overall impacts on the environment. For example, plastic-based building materials, such as insulation and sealants, improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption in buildings, and plastic parts reduce vehicle weight. 

In the past, how these products are managed after use has presented a challenge where innovations in technology and industry are now helping to provide a solution. Advanced recycling technologies utilize post-use plastics, which may otherwise be landfilled, as feedstock to create new products.  

On November 25, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill into law to ensure companies utilizing these technologies are appropriately regulated as manufacturers and not waste facilities in Pennsylvania.

"Addressing climate change is one of the most important issues that we face, and that is why my administration has made it a top priority to support comprehensive efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste, including the growing challenge of reducing plastic waste in landfills," Wolf said. "This measure offers an innovative way to manage hard-to-recycle plastics, which not only will reduce waste but also support an emerging recycling industry."

House Bill 1808, now Act 127, was introduced by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (PA-134) to provide regulatory certainty for companies considering investments in Pennsylvania. The legislation also makes clear that these facilities are not taking in or handling municipal waste, and are fully compliant with all Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Environmental Protection Agency permitting requirements.

“Advanced recycling presents an emerging market in the United States, and we have seen these facilities successfully deployed at a commercial scale in other states over the last seven years,” Mackenzie said. “They are having a tremendous impact in their communities, reducing waste in the surrounding regions while demonstrating a business model that does more with less. I look forward to welcoming this industry to our state and seeing Pennsylvania’s economy and environment benefit.”