Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden jointly inform the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) of their intention to submit a REACH restriction dossier on PFAS in 2022; stakeholders can contribute information to inform the dossier’s development until September 19, 2021
Five EU Member States register intention to restrict PFAS
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
Microplastics measured in newborn, infant, and adult feces
Small study assesses polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) microplastics in human feces; finds PET and PC in all infant stool and in most meconium and adult stool samples; suggests higher exposure of infants than adults
Putting the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability into action: Addressing EDCs and mixtures
Second webinar within Food Packaging Forum’s Spring 2021 webinar series on challenges and opportunities for food contact materials within the EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability; features two expert talks on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and chemical mixtures
US EPA announces national recycling strategy
New strategy sets out five objectives including improving markets for recycled commodities, increasing collection, and standardizing measurements; sets nationwide recycling rate target of 50% by 2030; agency to work with stakeholders over coming months on implementation
The Netherlands to introduce bottle deposit in 2021
Government announces minimum 15 cent deposit that will apply to plastic beverage bottles less than 3 liters; new deposit regulations come into force on July 1, 2021; EU single-use plastic regulations become effective on January 1, 2022
US considers new chemical recycling legislation
US states Oklahoma and Arizona pass bills to support chemical recycling facilities; at the same time, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers whether to include chemical recycling in national recycling calculations
Österreichischer Verpackungstag 2021
ECHA: New database on SVHCs in articles by 2021
ECHA to launch database on presence of substances of very high concern in articles by late 2019; information to be provided by industry and available to waste treatment operators and consumers