EU Commission proposes regulation to improve transparency and sustainability in risk assessment of food safety in the EU; feedback accepted until June 8, 2018
EU environment committee adopts waste legislation
EU Parliament’s Environment Committee amends legislative package on waste management; sets 80% target for recycling and reusing packaging waste for 2030
Novelties of bioplastics: EC’s policy framework and industry updates
European Commission (EC) publishes policy framework on bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics; aims to guide policy, industry, and public; “bioplastics” should not distract from circular economy principles prioritizing reduction, reuse, recycling; 17th annual European Bioplastics conference gives insights into recent bioplastics’ developments; bioplastics production capacities projected to almost triple by 2027
AOP-based computational models for regulatory toxicology
Review article by EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre and collaborators discusses development and use of computational prediction models for regulatory toxicology and how it can be supported by the Adverse Outcome Pathways framework
Communicating and reducing SVHC use
EU project survey finds half of companies do not have ready information to respond to consumer requests about substances of very high concern (SVHCs); Swedish Chemicals Agency develops app to improve SVHC communication; Danish report finds current legislation has reduced SVHC use in Nordic countries
Stakeholders comment on EFSA’s BPA risk assessment
EFSA invites BPA stakeholders for discussion of scientific opinions on risk assessment of BPA; stakeholders from national agencies, NGOs, industry, academia comment
Commentary on microplastics as a vector for chemical transport
Scientists respond to perspective article providing clarifications on plastic-driven long-range environmental transport (LRET) of chemical additives; discuss nine shortcomings of the perspective; suggest omitting the perspective article in discussions on plastic debris-associated LRET of additives
REACH data compliance needs improvement
European Chemicals Agency publishes annual REACH evaluation report; results show many chemical registrations continue to be missing key data
How to increase the recyclability of paper packaging
Confederation of Paper Industries, publishes guide for packaging designers to increase recyclability of paper products; to improve recycling quality, suggests limiting laminates, coatings, inks, varnishes, and adhesives to no more than 10% of pack weight, aspirational goal of 5%; standard paper mills cannot process much laminate, e.g. coffee cups, cold cups, beverage cartons
UV-328 qualifies for screening as POP
Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) meeting finds antioxidant UV-328 (TINUVIN-328) fulfills all four criteria for screening as Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) under the Stockholm Convention; next step is the preparation of a draft risk profile for the widely used plastic additive