A new tax on plastic packaging in the United Kingdom (UK) will become effective on April 1, 2022. The tax will apply to plastic packaging components that do not contain at least 30% recycled plastic and that are either manufactured in the UK or imported into the UK (although there are certain exemptions to the tax).
Keller and Heckman Partners George Misko, Mitzi Clark, and Kathryn C. Skaggs will be among the speakers at Food Contact Regulations USA 2022, to be held in Washington D.C., June 27-28, 2022. The titles of their presentations are:
Regulations implementing the Sustainable Packaging for the State of California Act of 2018, SB1335, became effective on December 31, 2021. The Act requires food service facilities located in state-owned facilities, operating on or as a concessionaire on state-owned property, or under contract to provide food service to a state agency to use food service packaging that is either reusable, recyclable, or compostable. It also requires the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to create, publish, and maintain a list of acceptable packaging materials and items.
The proposed Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette on December 25, 2021. The proposed regulations would prohibit the manufacture, import, and sale of six categories of single use plastics (SUPs): checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from or containing problematic plastics, ring carriers (typically known as six-pack rings), stir sticks, and straws.
Keller and Heckman Partner Katie Skaggs will be one of the presenters at the virtual PLASTICS Fall Food Packaging Conference, to be held November 9-11, 2021. She will speak during the session on PFAS and Regulatory Issues Impacting Packaging. Participants will also hear from experts in government, scientific institutions, and industry concerning regulatory issues surrounding the global marketing of food packaging materials. In addition, brand owners and speakers from the U.S.
Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) introduced a bill that would impose a fee on the sale of virgin plastic used for single-use products. The tax would start at 10-cents per pound in 2022, increase to 15-cents per pound in 2023, increase to 20-cents per pound in 2024, and then be adjusted for inflation from 2025 onward. The bill, S. 2645, was originally introduced in the Senate by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on August 5th.
Keller and Heckman Partner Hazel O’Keeffe will present, “Legislative aspects: food contact and recycled material,” followed by Associate Ales Bartl who will present, “Legislative aspects: REACH and recycled material,” at the International Seminar on Plastics Recycling, taking place in Valencia, Spain on December 1-2, 2021. The seminar will focus on the challenges of recycling plastic waste when implementing a circular economy that aims to create more sustainable solutions.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1200, known as the California Safer Food Packaging Cookware Act of 2021, on October 5, 2021. The bill bans the use of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging composed in substantial part of paper, paperboard, or other materials derived from plant fibers. It also requires warning labels on cookware to which PFAS was intentionally added.
Colorado’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act eliminates a law that prohibits municipalities from passing ordinances banning the use or sale of certain types of plastic materials. The Act, HB21-1162, which was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis on July 6, 2021, will phase out single-use plastic bags and polystyrene cups and containers, in addition to reversing a law that pre-empts local plastic bans.