Beverage packager doesn't like Happy Feet film

NEWS RELEASE

ITW HI-CONE

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Happy Feet sends wrong environmental message

ITASCA, Ill., Dec. 4 - The animated film Happy Feet is a
hit at the box office, but a leading beverage packaging firm is concerned the movie misleads the public about risks for wildlife endangerment from improperly discarded plastic ring beverage carriers.

"Since the late 1980s, we've been trying to correct misperceptions about ring carriers by working with scientific and environmental organizations to communicate how advances in plastics technology have made them completely photodegradable," said Hi Cone vice president and general manager Steve Henn.

"It's a shame the producers of Happy Feet didn't do their homework on this subject.

"They could have visited the Children's Museum in Chicago or other exhibits around the country to learn that plastic rings disintegrate almost completely from exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays."

In the film, one of the animated penguin characters, voiced by comic Robin Williams, returns to his habitat with a ring carrier around his neck.

"That's a misleading and irresponsible characterization," said Henn.

He explained that plastic rings exposed to sun, wind and rain will break apart.

The risk for wildlife endangerment, therefore, is almost nonexistent today because the photodegradable rings lose their strength and become brittle, even if floating on water.

According to Henn, there is vast scientific evidence showing that the special polymer used to produce Hi-Cone plastic ring carriers make them 100 percent photodegradable.

The sun's ultraviolet rays break up the chemical bonds in the polymers and shorten the molecular chains.

As a result, the brittle plastic breaks apart into small pieces.

Henn added that Hi-Cone's award-winning Ring Leader recycling program in North America encourages proper disposal of ring carriers in schools and workplaces.

Since its inception in 1991, tons of plastic rings have been processed by Hi-Cone for recycling and the material is used in production of photodegradable ring carriers and other products.

Hi-Cone has expressed its concerns to officials at Warner Brothers, the studio that produced Happy Feet.

Henn related that communications have been cordial and are ongoing.

"We don't want anyone who sees Happy Feet to become concerned about purchasing beverages in plastic ring carriers," said Henn.

"Compared with other packaging, such as shrink and paperboard, ring carriers generate the least amount of solid and water-borne waste.

"It is the most environment-friendly package option for the beverage consumers."

Based in Itasca, Ill., ITW Hi-Cone is a subsidiary company of Illinois Tool Works, Inc.

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