Sealant and adhesives industry association publishes guidance paper
EC: REACH amendments for nanomaterials
EU Commission publishes draft regulation amending REACH Annexes ‘to address nanoforms of substances’; consultation open until November 6, 2017
EDC criteria proposal blocked by Member States
Draft legal act on EDC identification criteria finds little support by EU Member States; European Commission to change draft, aiming to find a majority among Member States
Replacing hazardous chemicals with similarly toxic alternatives
New report by NGO CHEM Trust highlights necessity to regulate groups of similar chemicals to avoid regrettable substitutions, illustrates replacement of BPA with BPS and other analogues as example
ChemSec report on circular economy
Published report focuses on chemicals as overlooked part of a circular economy; urges companies to not rely on legal compliance alone, calls for avoiding hazardous substances during design stage and speeding up regulation
China outlines restrictions on single-use plastics
Ministry of Commerce announces increased oversight on use of disposable plastic items by businesses; sets ban on range of single-use plastic items including plastic shopping bags, tableware, hospitality products
ECHA survey identifies drivers and barriers of chemical substitution
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) publishes report on motivations for companies to substitute hazardous chemicals; greatest drivers found to be regulatory restrictions under REACH, customer demand, internal sustainability strategies
Unpacking the complexity of the polyethylene food contact articles value chain: A chemicals perspective
EU receives stakeholder feedback on FCM plans
European Commission receives 302 comments on inception impact assessment for revision of EU rules on food contact materials (FCM); Food Packaging Forum submits comments calling for revising definition to consider chemicals with difficult-to-identify safety levels, offers support to prioritize chemicals of concern
Plastic food contact materials under fire in Massachusetts communities
Various towns in Massachusetts, US discuss banning single use plastic bags, repeal of PET bottle ban fails