The European Commission published the 11th Amendment to the Plastics Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 (Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/831) in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 5, 2018. This amendment follows publication of scientific opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on new substances that may be used in food contact materials and on the re-evaluation of substances that have been authorized for food contact use previously.
The European Commission (EC) released a proposed directive on single-use plastics on May 28, 2018, as part of its transition to a more circular economy for plastics.
The European Commission (EC) is preparing a legislative proposal for a Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. This follows other waste management measures taken in the European Union. These include a 50% recycling target for plastic packaging waste by 2025 and 55% by 2030, and the goal to ensure that all plastic packaging is either reusable or recyclable by 2030. (See the PackagingLaw.com article, Europe Adopts Strategy for Plastics, for more information.)
Are polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films and PVC packaging either fully or partially prohibited in some European Union countries?
The European Union (EU) has adopted a strategy on plastics that is part of its transition towards a more circular economy. The strategy calls for all plastic packaging on the EU market to be either reusable or recyclable in a cost-effective manner by 2030. It also aims to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics and restrict the intentional use of microplastics.
The European Commission published the 9th amendment to the Plastics Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 (Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/79) on January 18, 2018. This amendment updates the Plastic Regulation’s positive list by making changes to the restrictions/uses for (butadiene, styrene, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate) copolymer cross-linked with divinylbenzene or 1,3- butanediol dimethacrylate, and by adding the following four new substances:
The European Commission (EC) has submitted the 9th amendment to the Plastics Regulation, (EU) No 10/2011, to the European Parliament (EP) and European Council for a three month “scrutiny” period. The “right of scrutiny” by the EP and Council is one of the steps in the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (or Comitology) that controls how the EC implements amendments to the Plastics Regulation.
California Assembly Bill 906, signed into law on October 15, 2017, defines “polyethylene terephthalate” (PET) for purposes of resin code labeling as a plastic that meets certain conditions, including limits with respect to the chemical composition of the polymer and a melting peak temperature within a specified range. The ostensible purpose of the change is to exclude rigid plastic bottles and containers made from polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified (PETG) that are sold in California from using Resin Identification Code (RIC) 1.
The European Commission (EC) has again revised its draft Regulation (EU) on the use of bisphenol A in varnishes and coatings intended to come into contact with food and amending Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 as regards the use of that substance in plastic food contact materials. The most significant revision is an extension of the ban on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in polycarbonate infant feeding bottles to include polycarbonate drinking cups and bottles intended for use by infants and young children.