US EPA removes PFAS from Safer Choice Program

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removes the last two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the agency’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List; Safer Choice Program products to be PFAS-free by March 2023; issues letter to handlers of fluorinated polyolefin containers raising awareness for presence of unintended PFAS that may violate Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

US EPA updates regulatory actions on chemicals

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces procedural changes to strengthen its review of new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); removes confidentiality status of 377 chemicals; releases PFAS Roadmap with timeline of policy actions and commitments

EPA updates safer chemical ingredients list

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adds 36 chemicals to Safer Chemical Ingredients List, 22 used in food contact materials; four are classified as chemicals of potential concern according to FPF’s Food Contact Chemicals database

US EPA extends comment period on PFAS reporting requirements

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extends comment period for proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); would require manufacturers that produced PFAS at anytime since 2011 to make a one-time report with information about uses, production volumes, disposal, exposures, and hazards; comments accepted until September 27, 2021

Plastic container fluorine treatments create PFAS

Scientists from Environmental Defense Fund and Green Science Policy Institute find fluorine gas treatment used on “millions of polyethylene and polypropylene containers each year” including those for food contact; treatment can produce PFAS that migrate from the material

US considers new chemical recycling legislation

US states Oklahoma and Arizona pass bills to support chemical recycling facilities; at the same time, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers whether to include chemical recycling in national recycling calculations

US EPA reissues PFBS risk assessment  

US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) reissues risk assessment on perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS); sets reference doses for chronic exposure of 0.0003 mg/kg body weight/day and sub-chronic exposures of 0.001 mg/kg body weight/day

Report compares US state recycling rates

Ball Corporation commissioned report compares recycling rates across US states for rigid plastics, glass, aluminum and steel cans, and cardboard for 2018; best overall recycling rates found for Maine (72%); results based on multiple data sources including US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), states, municipalities, waste processors; finds high recycling rates correlate with presence of deposit return systems, curb recycling, extended producer responsibility schemes

Scientists request US EPA to ban PFAS as a class

Group of 67 scientists send letter to new US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, requesting class-based ban on all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) except for essential uses; argue this would provide efficient process to greatly reduce exposure, further recommend EPA to require toxicity testing of widely present PFAS

BFFP: 13 key investments to combat plastic pollution

Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) recommends 13 key investments for US federal action; includes funding for multi re-use facility infrastructure, Environmental Protection Agency , research, government, and educational institutions; discourages further investments in chemical recycling, waste-to-energy/fuel technologies, carbon sequestration, downcycling, production, distribution and export of plastics