Council of the European Union and EU Parliament provisionally agree on EU Commission’s proposals for revision of EU waste legislation; introduce new binding targets for packaging waste recycling, define requirements for extended producer responsibility
United States creating national plastic pollution strategy
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes draft national strategy to prevent plastic pollution; outlines goals to reduce pollution during plastic production, improve recycling/reuse, and remove microplastics from waterways
Report questions viability and environmental benefits of plastic chemical recycling
Report commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) reviews chemical recycling of plastic waste; finds the technical feasibility, environmental benefits, and economic viability of the technology are not sufficiently demonstrated; excessive subsidies or investments may lock-in environmentally unfavorable processes and infrastructure
Slovenian study finds BPA to affect sperm quality
New study finds BPA to affect sperm quality in couples seeking in vitro fertilization; findings not statistically significant
Global plastic waste management and emissions
Using data from over 50,000 municipalities, with machine learning to fill gaps, global model estimates 52 million tons of plastic were released into unmanaged waste systems in 2020; report led by Arnika investigates effects of waste incineration on the environment and human health
Swiss capital replaces mineral water with tap water
Bern announced to make more tap water available at municipal events, the Swiss mineral water association criticizes the advice
Studies detect microplastics in bottled and outdoor drinking water
Researchers analyzed microplastics presence in drinking waters; report 7 out of 9 best-selling bottled mineral waters in France contain microplastics; find widespread microplastics contamination of free drinking water refill kiosks across Mexico City
California modifies draft circular economy bill
State lawmakers adapt proposed legislation on single use packaging and recycling following stakeholder discussions, keep target for 75% recycling rate by 2030, add language regarding material neutral treatment and use of a stakeholder advisory panel
FDA colloquium on in silico methods
Society of Toxicology and U.S. Food and Drug Administration host event on in silico testing methods; presentations focus on drivers for acceptance and treatment of uncertainties
Wege aus der Plastikkrise
Jane Muncke from the Food Packaging Forum discusses plastic pollution, chemicals of concern in plastics and food packaging, and the global plastics treaty in expert panel (in German)