EU cuts the ‘safe’ dose of bisphenol A (BPA) 20,000-fold and then bans it in food packaging
The European Food Safety Authority concluded that dietary BPA exposure exceeds the new safe level by hundreds of times in every age group.
Manufacturers
-
-
Making virgin plastic emits 5.3% of global greenhouse gases outside farming and land use
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found plastic production emitted 2.24 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2019, measured as the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2)…
-
Plastics’ carbon footprint doubled in 20 years as production moved to coal power
ETH Zurich researchers found plastics accounted for 4.5% of global emissions in 2015, with coal-based emissions quadrupling since 1995.
-
EU Single-Use Plastics Directive: bans, tethered caps and bottle targets
The EU’s 2019 directive banned ten single-use items, made tethered caps mandatory from 2024 and set 90% bottle collection by 2029.
-
EU Packaging Regulation applies from August 2026: all packaging recyclable by 2030
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets binding reuse targets, bans single-use plastic for small fresh produce and hotel miniatures from 2030, and…
-
UK deposit return scheme launches October 2027; packaging fees already live
The UK now charges producers £423 per tonne of plastic packaging and will add a 20p deposit on drinks containers from 1 October 2027.
-
7 US states have packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws; California bans plastic checkout bags
With no federal plastics law, US states are acting: seven have packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) and California ended plastic checkout bags from 1…
-
Canada’s single-use plastics ban survives court challenge
The Federal Court of Appeal ruled in January 2026 that the government can regulate plastic items as toxic, restoring the legal basis for the…
-
Seaweed-based films and coatings
Films, sachets and grease-proof coatings made from farmed seaweed extracts; best for replacing thin plastic films, sachets and coatings on paperboard made with PE…
-
Mycelium (mushroom) foam
Agricultural waste bound together by fungal mycelium and grown in moulds; a home-compostable replacement for polystyrene (EPS) and polyethylene (EPE) foam packaging inserts.