Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) evaluates eight chemical recycling facilities in the United States; reports that ‘recycled’ material produced by at least five facilities ultimately gets burned for heat or energy production; six facilities are potentially permitted to release hazardous air pollutants such as benzene, styrene, and arsenic; two US states ease restrictions on chemical recycling facilities
Chemical migration and PET food packaging: Implications for circularity
Webinar features presentation from scientists about their recently published study on the PET drink bottle value chain, chemical safety of recycled PET, and what it might mean for the future of PET recycling
EU Commission taking action on FCMs
NGO CHEM Trust outlines European Commission’s ongoing and upcoming activities to improve regulation of food contact materials
Update on recycled plastics FCM regulation in Europe
Standing Committee of the European Commission debates a slightly revised draft regulation on recycled plastics in food contact materials (FCMs); voting carried out as written procedure; final decision expected to be favorable
Chinese draft standard for composite FCMs
Chinese National Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials issues draft standard for composite FCMs; consultation period open until July 16, 2017
Consumer goods companies abandoning 2025 plastic packaging reduction goals
Unilever reduces environmental pledges and sets new timeline; new approach is meant to be more focused, long term, and systemic; receives criticism from civil society
Sulfated BPA a major metabolite in fetal blood
Scientists measure BPA metabolites and BPA alternatives in paired maternal and fetal cord blood; find low but significant levels of BPS; fetus’ level of total BPA metabolites higher than mother’s; BPA-sulfate higher than BPA-glucuronide
Benchmarking in vitro toxicity of plastics
Scientists investigate in vitro toxicity and chemical composition of plastic consumer products made of different polymers; high baseline toxicity of polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics; food contact status does not necessarily imply lower toxicity
JRC addresses combined exposure to chemicals
The EU Commission’s JRC publishes a comprehensive overview on safety assessment of chemical mixtures
Polyfluorinated compounds in food packaging
The Food Packaging Forum reports on uses, risks and regulation