Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) event on November 3-4, 2020 to focus on exchanging experiences and knowledge on systems to manage industrial and consumer chemicals; registration open
New German packaging law
German parliament passes new packaging law aiming to increase recycling and prevention of packaging waste; law enters into force January 1, 2019
Phthalates: impact on leiomyoma growth and mixture risk
Study identifies mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) exposure as high-risk factor for leiomyoma growth on epidemiological and mechanistic level; European biomonitoring of five reprotoxic phthalates demonstrates necessity to integrate mixture risk assessment into regulatory practice; targeted analysis shows migration of five phthalates from polypropylene food packaging
Plastic manufacturers fail to provide safety information
Swiss authorities request Documents of Compliance from polymer manufacturers; information absent or incomplete
Microplastics may affect the human microbiome
Scientists explore potential impacts of microplastics on human intestine ecology; microplastics may drive unhealthy changes in the gut microbiome; authors highlight importance of assessing human microplastics exposure and hazards for the gut
EU human biomonitoring initiative
EU initiative HBM4EU aims to coordinate and advance human biomonitoring in Europe; launch event on December 8, 2016 in Brussels
German draft proposal on mineral oil migration is met with skepticism
German ministry proposes regulation of mineral oils in food contact materials, receives criticism from German paper and board industry
Report on improving management of UK packaging waste
Researchers investigate current waste management system, identify long-term waste management contracts with local authorities as limiting improvements and innovation; recommend better distribution of value across system using extended producer responsibility, deposit schemes
Ecorys report on evaluation of FCM legislation
European Commission publishes final report developed by consultancy Ecorys on ongoing evaluation of food contact material (FCM) legislation; identifies lack of harmonization across many materials, incoherent risk management measures across legislation; finds that health benefits of the legislation outweigh it costs
Reviews examine biobased polymers
Several recent reviews examine the value chain of biobased polymers; discuss clarification of terms such as biobased, degradable, biodegradable, and compostable; define “biotechnological recycling (bio-recycling)” as the use of enzymes and microorganisms in a technological setting to biodegrade polymers; three biodegradable polymers assessed in marine field trials