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Europe
August 15, 2025
European Parliament Research Service assesses implementation of the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, finds mixed progress; praises revision of Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation and provisional one substance-one assessment agreement; concerns raised about delayed REACH revision
Reading time: 1 minute
June 2, 2025
Scientists analyze currently used indicators for monitoring and enforcing waste prevention; include 123 national and company indicators in Europe; analysis reveals large disparities, inconsistencies, and gaps in current waste prevention indicators, potentially enabling greenwashing
Reading time: 3 minutes
April 10, 2025
German consumer organization analyzes ten pizza boxes for bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS); detects BPA and BPS in nine and eight, respectively; migration into pizza was found in four samples for BPA and eight for BPS; attributes bisphenol content to contaminated recycling streams
Reading time: 2 minutes
October 2, 2024
Reports by civil society organizations analyze current state of reuse in Europe; survey of 90 reuse solutions finds sector is growing but needs further regulatory incentives to compete with single-use alternatives; urges stakeholders to collaborate to overcome transition cost hurdles; second report compares costs of single-use packaging and reuse systems; says switching to reuse is beneficial when including environmental costs
Reading time: 3 minutes
August 21, 2024
European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare updates guidance document on metals and alloys used for food contact; sets updated Specific Release Limits; assesses safety of various metals based on scientific evidence; emphasizes need for collaboration between stakeholders to minimize health risks from released substances
Reading time: 1 minute
November 28, 2023
Includes ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and bisphenol A in food packaging and general packaging reduction targets; decreases reuse obligations
Reading time: 3 minutes
June 21, 2023
European Environment Agency (EEA) reports on recycling targets; 10 Member States at risk of missing 65% packaging waste recycling rate by 2025; 19 members struggle to meet 50% plastic packaging recycling quota; upcoming packaging and packaging waste revision to include reuse and refill targets
Reading time: 1 minute
May 23, 2023
Ukraine moving to align chemical and packaging regulations with EU standards; proposes regulations to align with Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP), and Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations; World Trade Organization notifications open for comment until June 19 and July 4, 2023, respectively
Reading time: 2 minutes
May 18, 2023
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) calls for data on migration and occurrence of plasticizers, such as phthalates, in food contact materials (FCMs); aims to gather migration data to assess dietary exposure and enhance the safety of FCMs; national food authorities, research institutions, and food businesses are invited to submit data by August 31, 2023
Reading time: 1 minute
April 27, 2023
Food Packaging Forum (FPF) responds to European Commission’s call for feedback on the proposed packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR); FPF highlights aspects of food packaging and chemical safety that should be included in future versions; primarily (i) considering presence of hazardous chemicals in packaging materials meant to be recycled or reused, (ii) clearly defining compostable packaging and guaranteeing safety, and (iii) defining inertness
Reading time: 3 minutes
