International negotiators prepare for first meeting to negotiate the UN treaty to end plastic pollution; scientists, civil society organizations, and governmental bodies publish reports proposing suggestions for what and how to negotiate; many reports support including controls on chemical additives as part of the treaty
MigraTox: Optimizing in vitro testing of FCMs
Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology (OFI) initiates MigraTox project to work on optimizing and standardizing sample preparation and bioassays for in vitro testing of food contact materials; focuses on genotoxicity assays; calls on industrial partners to collaborate and provide samples
Ways towards more sustainable packaging
Brands, packaging producers and other stakeholders gather in Barcelona to discuss sustainable packaging; current focus on increasing recycling, but packaging reduction and reuse are the mid-term aims; chemical safety only touched upon briefly
Circular Economy Systems
Solutions to plastic pollution?
Epoch Times article: Plastic production, consumption, and pollution on the rise; direct effects on humans unknown; solutions overdue and needed
Meeting on epigenetics and omics
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and Environmental Omics Synthesis Centre host symposium on environmental and (eco)toxicological omics and epigenetics on September 12-15, 2016 in Belgium
Webinar on microplastics now available online
Recording of Collaborative on Health and Environment’s recent webinar on microplastics now available online for streaming
New fact sheet on plastic packaging and food waste
American Chemistry Council highlights benefits of plastic packaging, including single-use applications, in keeping food fresh for longer and preventing food waste
Associations report European packaging recycling rates
Industry associations report recycling rates of packaging materials in Europe; average collection rate of glass bottles and jars hit 80% in 2020; paper packaging recycling over 80%; paper recycling rates close to theoretical maximum; plastic recycling has not increased despite increased demand by beverage companies; two-thirds of plastic-packaging pledges in Europe failed, supporting the change away from single-use likely necessary
Project on the European exposome
New European Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX) project to investigate prenatal environmental exposures and biomarkers of disease and child health outcomes