American Chemistry Council (ACC) proposes principles for applying mass balance approach in plastics recycling; includes traceability across supply chain and third-party auditing to verify product claims
March 26, 2020
Dutch Plastic Pact publishes baseline data
Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) releases first progress report towards 2025 goals; provides data from 27 signatories on recycling potential and use of recycled plastics to serve as baseline; data still lacking on reuse, sorting, and quantity of hazardous substances in plastics
March 23, 2020
EASAC report on plastic packaging and circular economy
European Academies’ Science Advisory Council provides seven recommendations to EU policymakers for transitioning to circular economy; include banning plastic waste exports, extending producer responsibility, ‘end misleading about bio-based alternatives’, limiting additives and resins
March 23, 2020
European Plastics Pact launched
Public-private partnership sets targets for signatories by 2025; includes designing all packaging to be re-useable or at least recyclable, reducing virgin plastics by 20%, increasing recycling by 25%, having 30% recycled content
March 13, 2020
Green Alliance finds plastic-only strategies ‘not working’
Report cautions current regulatory approaches focused on plastics, instead encourages improving careful management of all materials; calls for urgent review of food contact materials, implementation of fiscal measures to reduce use across material types
March 11, 2020
EC publishes Circular Economy Action Plan
European Commission’s new plan includes specific aims to simplify packaging materials, reduce unnecessary packaging use, set mandatory requirements for recycled content, remove hazardous chemicals from product life cycles; timelines for individual initiatives published
February 13, 2020
Conference on EU food contact regulations
Chemical Watch hosts conference covering European and global regulations on food contact materials, risk assessment, and circular economy; two-year delay in the evaluation of FCM legislation announced
February 13, 2020
Debut of ‘Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act’ in U.S.
U.S. senators and representatives present wide-ranging bill to address plastic pollution; aims to extend producer responsibility, implement nationwide container refund system, phase out single-use plastic items, increase minimum recycled content
February 11, 2020
Launch of circularity measurement tool
Ellen MacArthur Foundation releases online platform ‘Circulytics’ to help companies assess their transition towards circular economy; identify strengths and areas for improvement, compare with sector averages
January 21, 2020
FPF comments on EU’s Circular Economy roadmap
The Food Packaging Forum shared its perspective on the European Commission’s roadmap for the Circular Economy Action Plan; key consideration should be given to chemical safety in reused, recycled and biodegradable materials especially if intended for food contact
