Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic publish results from voluntary plastic waste audit of nearly 100,000 UK homes; finds UK households throw away nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic a year, 83% of which is from food and drinks; waste organizations within the country ask for stronger policies and more clarity on existing goals
UK to “overhaul” its waste system
UK government announces plans to make major changes to waste system; considers introducing extended producer responsibility, plastic tax, defined materials for recycling, deposit return scheme
EDCs in plastics cost the US $250 billion in healthcare annually
Scientists calculate US health care costs caused by a well-studied subset of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in plastics; estimate exposure cost $250 billion in 2018, equivalent to 1.22% of Gross Domestic Product; recommend addressing chemicals of concern in global plastics treaty to reduce disease burden and costs
Testing for developmental neurotoxicity
Special issue of Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology features 18 articles discussing alternative (non-animal) methods for assessing chemicals’ potential to harm neurodevelopment in children
Ukraine aligns with EU packaging and chemical regulations
Ukraine moving to align chemical and packaging regulations with EU standards; proposes regulations to align with Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP), and Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations; World Trade Organization notifications open for comment until June 19 and July 4, 2023, respectively
Ukraine aligning FCM regulations with EU
Ukraine’s Ministry of Health notifies World Trade Organization of a draft restriction on vinyl chloride in contact with food; restriction aligns with a 1978 European Council declaration on vinyl chloride in food contact materials (FCMs); ministry announces other alignments including on migration of lead and cadmium from ceramic FCMs
High disease costs attributed to EDC exposure
New series of studies suggests that costs attributable to EDCs are over €150 billion per year in Europe
UK to stick with EU FCM legislation
UK will adopt EU FCM framework regulation and material-specific regulations after leaving EU; situation for non-harmonized FCMs under debate
Cost of EU chemicals regulation
European Commission publishes study assessing the cost of regulation on EU’s chemical industry; CHEM Trust and Cefic release commentaries
Research defines PFAS planetary boundary and calculates human health costs
Scientists suggest per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in environmental media represent a new planetary boundary that has been exceeded; calculate that regulatory action on PFAS use and remediation may provide substantial economic benefits through reduction of health-related costs