Review provides understanding of how knowledge gaps on long-term plastic particle fate affect life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and distort policy decisions; exemplifies discussion comparing a fossil-based with a biodegradable plastic; highlights importance of covering plastic particle impacts and its unknowns transparently in LCAs to allow reliable material comparisons and responsible decision making
Glass packaging continues to grow
Industry group reports 1% growth in glass packaging production, attributes increase to environmentally conscious consumers
Intelligent packaging: Applications overview
Scientists review basic principles and market applications of intelligent food packaging; discuss the obstacles to a broader market penetration
Scientists use in silico-based models to prioritize food contact chemicals
Two studies applied computational methods to screen food contact chemicals (FCCs) for carcinogenic properties or interaction with 31 nuclear receptors; one identifies 44 potential carcinogens among 1623 assessed FCCs; other finds more than half of 8091 screened FCCs with high binding affinity for several nuclear receptors
Second bill introduced to reform TSCA
US Senators Barbara Boxer and Edward Markey introduced second chemical reform legislation, calls for ban on asbestos
Responsibility of (bio)plastics industry
13th annual European Bioplastics conference discusses impacts of plastics pollution, elements of EU circular economy package, food contact regulations, bioplastics market development, life cycle assessment, new building blocks
Business case study: Competition on toxicity destructive
Washington Post comments on competition amongst reusable water bottle manufacturers: collaboration on toxic substance replacement results in higher benefits
European Parliamentarians host events on food packaging safety
EU Green Week 2023 includes panels discussing food packaging safety and plastics in a circular economy
Danish consumer products testing program might lose funding
The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals, testing consumer products for chemicals of concern, might not get its grant renewed for 2017
Oligomers in biodegradable food packaging
Study of non-volatile components of biodegradable polyester and polylactic acid blend identifies 37 different compounds including plasticizers and oligomers, some seen only in migration experiments