Waste management and recycling companies would like to make something clear: Your bowling ball does not belong in the recycling bin.Sure polyester is generally a recyclable Plastic, but neither the inexpensive balls ready for use at your local alley nor the urethane ones used by professional bowlers are capable of being recycled.The website Curbed notes that Sims Municipal Recycling in New York’s Bronx borough sees three to four bowling balls coming in on trucks from residential customers every day. They’re another form of “wishcycling” and end up going to landfills along with about 20 percent of the materials that arrive at Sims each year.It’s not that it’s impossible to recycle bowling balls, but impractical.”We could take a bowling ball and grind it down into asphalt,” former ball designer Ronald Hickland Jr. told Curbed. But the process takes more energy — and costs more money — than it was worth.As a result, bowling balls are moving into the same discussion of extended producer responsibility, or EPR, as single-use plastics such as packaging and bottles.Tom Outerbridge, general manager of Sims, said that updating recycling systems through EPR funds could also go toward making it feasible to recycle bowling balls and other difficult items.. Beyond recycling, it has some nice insights into the value of high-end bowling balls and just why professional bowlers have so many of them. French auto supplier Novares Group has opened a new technical center focused on future automotive powertrain products in Lens, France.It will join powertrain skill centers in China and the U.S.”Lens, like all the powertrain skill centers, built its history on combustion engine development but is today also focused on developing electric and hydrogen-powered engines,” . “The Lens center made its name reducing the weight and cost of individual engine parts by … finding plastic alternatives to parts traditionally made of metal. Now the center is focusing on today’s challenges of achieving greener, more sustainable vehicles.”It’s a big step forward for the company that was forced into bankruptcy to restructure when the pandemic hit, disrupting the global auto industry. Novares emerged from bankruptcy in October. The maker of the Cozy Coupe is now taking on the smart bike.The Pelican (yes, it’s a play on the Peloton brand) Explore & Fit Cycle by Little Tikes goes on sale this month. The stationary bike also includes a built-in stand for a tablet and a speaker, the says.Little Tikes also has uploaded a series of videos that allow kids to virtually ride through woods or other locations, accompanied by on-screen characters who count up points and encourage them to keep pedaling. (Although I’m not sure why a ride in the snow is accompanied by a .)For the rotomolder, the Pelican adds to its existing line of pedal bikes and tricycle-based toys. Unlike the Cozy Coupe, the Pelican has a metal frame, but it also uses plenty of plastics.And in the competitive world of toddler smart bikes, it is going up against the that beat it to the market by more than a year. Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you’d like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge. Subscribe to Plastics News Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.Customer Service: