INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Bag makers sue Dallas over 5-cent fee
A
n ordinance to tax plastic and paper bags in Dallas is the subject of a lawsuit filed May 1 by a group of bag manufacturers and recyclers. The suit, brought by Hilex Poly Co. LLC, Superbag Corp., Inteplast Group and Advanced Polybag Inc., alleges that the 5-cent-per-bag tax passed by the City Council in March 2014 violates the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act. Section 361.0961 of the Texas Health and Safety Code says local governments cannot ban or restrict “the sale or use of a container or package” or asses fees
or deposits on the sale of packaging. The lawsuit alleges that makes the bag ban illegal. When the Dallas ban was passed, then-State Attorney General Greg Abbott was already looking into whether bag bans or taxes were legal in the state. He eventually concluded that such ordinances were a violation of state law. No other action has been taken on the nine other existing bans or fees in the state. Abbott has since been elected governor of Texas. The lawsuit also says the ordinance “raises more revenue
than is reasonably necessary to subsidize the city's efforts to ensure compliance with the ordinance” and that such a move has to be approved by voters. Also, while labeled a “fee,” it is in fact a tax, which Texas law says also has to have the approval of the voters, according to the lawsuit. Customers are harmed by the ordinance, the suit says, because of increased costs to them. Retailers are in turn also harmed, it says, due to customers choosing to shop elsewhere, where bags are free.
Chinese Government supports battery development
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he Chinese government is putting a huge amount of support behind the development of the lithium battery industry, and film manufacturers are optimistic about prospects for the sector.
More than 200 industry representatives gathered to discuss the development of the lithium-ion battery market in China and abroad at the 2015 Market and Technical Development Conference of Lithium-ion Battery & Separator Film and LIB Key Materials Industry Chain Development Forum 2015, held in Beijing in early April. Speakers noted that lithium ion batteries are becoming popular around the world, including Japan, South Korea, the United States and Europe. Following this global trend, China’s demand for lithium batteries is also growing, especially since 2011, according to speaker Wu Yao Gen
chief engineer at FSPG Hi-Tech Co. Ltd., one of the top three producers of lithium-ion battery separator film in China. The biggest increase in demand has remained in the consumer electronic goods category (for example smart phones and portable chargers), he said, although the demand for electric transportation tools such as electric bikes is growing at a markedly increased rate as well. Following the increased demand, there also has been an increase in production. According to data he provided from AskCIData, the production of lithium batteries in China was more than 5.28 million units in 2014, an increase of 10.9 percent from 2013. According to CCM, the industry will have expanded 400 percent by 2017.
Chinese government subsidies for new energy vehicles remain a large part of the government support, although earlier this year the amount of subsidies decreased by 10 percent in order to extend the program. Wu Yao Gen said that from 2009 to 2015, as production of lithium battery separator film steadily increased in China, the price of separator films steadily dropped. But he said there is a heavy dependence on imported films, with Japanese, South Korean and American manufacturers making up an overwhelming majority of the global separator film market. Wu highlighted some of the reasons for the dependence on imported separator films such as many employees at foreign separator film companies have prior experience working in the battery industry and understand battery companies’ needs.
47 • May 2015 • Plastics News