New York’s mayor Bloomberg tries to increase plastic recycling through banning plastic foam food packaging
Questions surround French deposit scheme
Pending introduction of a deposit-return scheme for bottles in France raising questions by stakeholders; applicable materials, functioning, and cost distributions not yet clear
Socio-economic analysis of persistent pollutants
DG GROWTH publishes report on persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and very persistent, very bioaccumulative (vPvB) substances, detailing ‘stock pollution’ approach to socio-economic analysis of such substances subject to REACH authorization and restriction in the EU
Polystyrene FCM recycling not economical
Video explains why expanded polystyrene from food contact uses is not commonly recycled in the U.S.A.
Opinion: EC guilty of EDC delays
Article in Le Monde critically discusses European Commission’s impact assessment on criteria to identify EDCs; final EDC criteria expected on June 15, 2016
US Senate passes bills to increase recycling accessibility, data
United States Senate unanimously passes the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act, Recycling and Composting Accountability Act; both receive wide support from industry and environmental groups; must pass House of Representatives to become national policy
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
Antimony trioxide inhalation limit
U.S. scientific organization recommends lowering inhalation limit to 0.02 mg/m3; industry group warns of cost increases and intransparency in calculations
Scientists review state of edible films and coatings
Two new reviews investigate types, properties, and application of edible films and coatings applied on food; reuse of food waste to protect fresh food; addition of nanomaterials identified to further increase mechanical and barrier properties of edible films
Review on mechanical recycling of plastic packaging
Article in peer-reviewed journal provides thorough overview of mechanical recycling processes by polymer, discusses chemical additives used; concludes mechanical recycling will remain most effective method to recycle plastics