US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adds 18 new entries to its Inventory of Effective Food Contact Substance Notifications (FCNs) since April 2022
EDCs: Sweden wins court case against European Commission
General Court of the European Union concludes that the European Commission has breached EU law by failing to define criteria for identification of endocrine disrupting chemicals
BPI guidelines for compostable FCMs
Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) publishes set of guidelines for labeling and identifying compostable food contact materials (FCMs); aims to reduce contamination of composting waste streams; focuses on improved labelling and communication of compostable products
3RI publishes guidelines for corporate plastic stewardship
Reduce, Recover, Recycle (3R) Initiative and partners’ Guidelines for Corporate Plastic Stewardship aims to guide companies’ transition toward circular plastics supply chain; outlines pathways to three commitments of increasing ambition: net zero plastic leakage, 100% recycled at end-of-life, and net circular plastic; includes example case study
Opinion: EU Commission’s secrecy on FCMs
Non-profit organization CHEM Trust criticizes EU Commission’s “secretive and industry-focused” approach to regulating food contact materials, requests more transparency and involvement of public interest groups
Rigid polyolefin recycling capacity in Europe
Plastic Recyclers Europe reports 1.7 million tons of installed recycling capacity for the waste stream, packaging still the largest use
Many unknowns about biodegradable plastics
New scientific review points out shortcomings in biodegradability standards for plastics; lack of toxicity testing; no account for effects of plastic additives, microplastics formation
European Biopolymer Summit
European industry associations report latest recycling rates
On average, 80.2% of glass packaging collected for recycling in 2022 in the EU; Steel recycling rate reaches 80.5%; 70% recycling rate for paper and board in the UK in 2023; 40% recycling rate for plastics in the EU in 2021
Update: Siloxanes D4 and D5 to be restricted
ECHA’s Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis agrees to restrict siloxanes D4 and D5 in personal care products