News Article

New Zealand and two Australian states phase out single-use plastics

New Zealand Ministry for the Environment announces plan to ban many hard-to-recycle and single-use plastic items by mid-2025; includes food packaging made from polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and some degradable plastics, plus all drink stirrers, single-use tableware, and fruit labels; Western Australia moves Plan for Plastics ahead 4 years, banning most single-use plasticware by end of 2021; New South Wales to eliminate most single-use plasticware within a year

News Article

Portuguese study surveys consumption of packaged foods

Finds on average 1.5 kg packaged food consumed per person per day, plastic packaging makes up largest fraction by material type (69%); provides detailed tables of packaging material type across food groups and sociodemographic characteristics

News Article

EU notifies C9-C14 PFCA restriction to WTO

European Union notifies World Trade Organization of proposed amendment to REACH Restriction List (Annex XVII) to restrict manufacturing, use, placing on the market and import of C9-C14 perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), their salts and related substances within the EU; long-chain PFCAs can be present in food contact materials as impurities but also degradation products of long-chain fluorotelomers

Publication Dossiers

Melamine

Melamine is used to make resins and tableware, amongst other applications. The dossier summarizes applications, risks and regulations of the substance.

News Article

Impacts of plastics across the food system

Policy brief from Scientists’ Coalition discusses how plastics in the food system from farm to table to trash impact human health and the environment; provides suggestions for how UN Plastics Treaty can address the drivers and impacts of food system plastics use