NEWS RELEASE
CANADA PLASTICS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
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VAUGHAN – Getting teens to notice things that matter is sometimes a challenge. But that’s what the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) set out to do in 2017 when it launched its “Plasticurious” video contest for Canadian teens.
This month, CPIA announced the eight winners who used their original submissions to create inspiring messages about how plastics benefit our lives.
“Our intent was to engage young people in thinking and sharing ideas about plastics and how the decisions they make today about managing plastics affect their lives tomorrow,” said Mark Lichtblau, vice president, Inteplast Bag and Film Corp., Haremar Plastic Manufacturing Division, and a member of the CPIA Board of Directors.
Haremar manufactures high quality plastic film for a variety of consumer and industrial uses.
Using social media to reach out to teens, CPIA invited them to describe in a short video some of the amazing things made possible by plastics. Fifteen-year-old Daniel Kauffman from Barrie, Ont. won second prize in the 14-15 age category.
Though he keeps his eyes on his academics with a view to pursuing a career in medicine, in his spare time, he loves to play team sports. His passion is basketball. The thought that his basketball ambitions could be aided and enhanced by plastics intrigued him.
“It was an interesting question, and when I did the research I found out cool things about how plastics not only increase our performance level but also protect our bodies,” he said. His video submission, “How plastic helps me achieve my goals – A Plasticurious Video”, Daniel looks at the various plastic components of basketball shoes and explains how they enable these athletes to run harder, jump higher and turn more quickly.
That’s exactly what Plasticurious was intended to do, said Mr. Lichtblau, who presented a Plasticurious recognition certificate to Daniel at the Haremar office in Vaughan on Thursday, Feb. 22.
“We created the Plasticurious video contest as a way to remind Canadians that plastics make a considerable contribution to our quality of life. But while we enjoy the benefits of plastics, each of us has a responsibility to care for our environment by ensuring plastic resources are used responsibly including their proper management at end of life.
“The young Canadians who entered our Plasticurious video contest can take pride in the fact that their videos will help us take an important message to many other Canadians…’plastics are too valuable to waste!’” he added.
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