Seven states joined Illinois by enacting bans on the manufacture and sale of personal care products containing plastic microbeads during their most recent legislative sessions. The Illinois ban was enacted in June 2014. Most of these laws define "synthetic plastic microbead" as "any intentionally added non-biodegradable, solid plastic particle measuring less than five millimeters in size and used to exfoliate or cleanse in a rinse-off product." The new laws are listed below.
California has become the first state to ban single-use plastic bags under legislation signed by Governor Edmund G "Jerry" Brown Jr. on September 30, 2014. SB 270 prohibits grocery stores and pharmacies from distributing single-use plastic bags after July 2015 and expands the ban to convenience stores and liquor stores in July 2016.
California could become the first state to ban single-use plastic bags under legislation passed by both the California Assembly and Senate on August 28 and 29, respectively. SB 270, if signed by Governor Jerry Brown, would phase out single-use plastic bags in California grocery stores, convenience stores, liquor stores, and pharmacies. The governor has until September 30 to sign or veto the bill.
Polystyrene foam food and beverage containers will be banned in Washington, D.C. beginning in 2016. The ban is part of the Sustainable DC Omnibus Act of 2014, which Mayor Vincent C. Gray signed into law on July 29, 2014. The law also will require restaurants, food trucks, and other outlets that serve food to use compostable or recyclable food service products by 2017. Foam meat trays used by butchers and in grocery stores are exempt.
Vermont became the most recent state to enact a green chemistry law when Governor Peter Shumlin signed S.239 on June 10, 2014. Act No. 188 (S.239) requires manufacturers of children's products or trade associations representing the manufacturers to notify the state's Department of Health (DOH) if any of their products contain a chemical of high concern if that chemical was intentionally added in an amount above a level deemed safe, or if the chemical is present as a contaminant above 100 parts per million.
The New York City Council passed a bill, No. 1060-A, by a unanimous 51-0 vote, potentially prohibiting the use of polystyrene food and beverage containers by restaurants, food stands, and coffee shops, beginning July 1, 2015. .
A bill that would have phased out single-use plastic bags in California grocery stores and certain other retail establishments was defeated May 30, 2013, when the state Senate voted 18 to 17 in favor of the measure, three votes short of the 21 votes needed for passage. The first phase of the California 2013 legislative session ended May 31, which was the last day for bills to be passed out of the house of origin.
The European Commission (EC) proposed amending the European Union (EU) Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) to provide additional explanation on what is considered packaging under the law. Article 3(1) of the Directive includes a generic definition of packaging and criteria for interpretation of what is packaging, while Annex I provides examples of items considered packaging under the definition.