Exhibition and conference on recycling and waste management to take place on September 12-13, 2018, in Birmingham, UK; focus on plastic waste problems
UK Parliamentary session on plastic waste
UK Parliamentary Committee plans to hold session to “scrutinize the ways in which the UK Government might reach its own target of eliminating all ‘avoidable’ plastic waste by 2042”; session to be streamed live
UK Plastics Pact eliminating more plastics from grocery items
UK Plastics Pact publishes second round of ‘problem plastics’ to eliminate by end of 2022; includes non-compostable fruit and vegetable stickers, non-compostable tea and coffee bags, PVC film; longer term goal to remove packaging from whole fruits and vegetables; Pact has reduced consumer packaging 10% between 2018 and 2020
Assessing risks of hydrophobic chemicals
Scientists argue that water-focused assessment schemes may misjudge risks of hydrophobic chemicals; sediments, particles, exposure through diet additionally play an important role; contribution of microplastics and nanoplastics uncertain but likely low
BPS and other color developers migrate from food labels into food
Scientists analyze 140 Canadian samples of food packaging and thermal labels; first to demonstrate that bisphenol S (BPS) and alternative chemicals found in food labels migrate through packaging materials into food; study assesses levels of BPS and other bisphenols in 79 canned Turkish foods; detect BPS in six samples in levels up to 0.036 mg/kg food
UK Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Programme – online briefing
EU plans BPA update
European Commission plans to lower specific migration limit (SML) for BPA from food contact plastics; new SML shall also apply to varnishes and coatings used in FCMs
Colombia launches Plastics Pact while previous Pacts struggle with 2025 targets
Colombia Plastics Pact launches; the second Latin American country to join the Plastics Pact program; reports show UK and US Plastics Pacts are unlikely to hit 2025 goals as total plastic use keeps increasing
UK industry associations challenge French restrictions on BPA
European Commission should take action against BPA ban in France
Survey on quats
Canadian government initiates survey of quaternary ammonium compounds aiming to establish national inventory