EU commission publishes roadmap for strategy on plastics in a circular economy; aims to decouple plastics production from fossil fuels, boost recycling and reuse, and reduce leakage into the environment
Walmart responds to increase in use of priority chemicals
US retailer reports 1% increase in footprint across its product assortment from 2017 to 2018; aims to achieve 10% reduction by 2022; plans to finish analysis and publish most recent data later this year
Study on chemical recycling in Europe
Zero Waste Europe publishes study on information availability and current state of chemical recycling implementation in Europe; sees chemical recycling as complementary to mechanical recycling but not as ‘real solution’
Nano guidance to be updated
ECHA updates four REACH guidance documents on nanomaterials
Improving laws for a circular economy
New report by Client Earth and European Environmental Bureau highlights need for adapting EU legislation to keep hazardous chemicals out of a circular economy and protect human health and the environment
Industry group against Californian warning labels
American Chemistry Council opposes warning labels identifying chemicals of concern in consumer products as proposed by the State of California
2014 French nanomaterial registrations analyzed
French Directorate General of Risk Prevention releases report analyzing data on nanomaterials imported, manufactured or distributed in France in 2014
Six FCCs including melamine and bisphenol S added to SVHC candidate list
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) adds nine chemicals to the Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC); six have been listed for intentional use or measured in food contact articles; listing obligates producers and suppliers to provide safety information and to notify ECHA; candidate list now contains 233 substances
ECHA report on alternatives to animal testing
Fourth report from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) finds little change since 2017, number of alternative testing adaptations continuing to increase; read-across most commonly applied followed by data-waiving and weight of evidence approaches
PAC launches PIP 360° benchmarking tool
PAC Packaging Consortium free online tool scores product packaging based on factors including material type, weight, reuse/recyclability, renewable/recycled content; provides single score with recommendations for improvement