According to a June 3, 2023 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) news release the members of the second session of the “… Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution … [held May 29 to June 2 in Paris, adjourned] with a mandate for the INC Chair … to prepare a zero draft of the agreement […]
Author: studiormd2022
California Plastic Packaging Legislation Summarized
On May 22, 2023, attorneys with McDermott Will & Emery issued a “Brief Overview” of legislation signed June 30, 2022 by the Governor of California, SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act https://calrecycle.ca.gov/packaging/packaging-epr/ “… that requires that by 2032: 100% of packaging in the state be recyclable or compostable … 25% cut in plastic packaging; and 65% of all […]
Single Use Plastics to be Banned during 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games
According to a May 26, 2023 Reuters story https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/paris-ban-single-use-plastic-2024-games-2023-05-26/ “… Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Friday the city planned to ban single-use plastic when it holds the 2024 Olympic Games as part of efforts to tackle a global plastic pollution crisis … Visitors to temporary Olympics competition sites in the French capital will be admitted only without […]
Micro and Nano Plastic Particles – Role of the US Government in Addressing Human and Environmental Impacts
The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has scheduled a second Public Webinar for June 6, 2023 – “… Breakdown of bulk plastics to micro- and nanoscale particles in the environment has further challenged efforts to understand the potential human and environmental impacts of plastics over their full life cycles … This webinar provides an overview of the key […]
Ocean Degradability of Plastics Labeled as Biodegradable Studied
According to the abstract of a May 24, 2023 Plus One article by researchers with the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography “… we tested the biodegradability in marine waters of textiles made of polylactic acid, a diffused industrially compostable plastic … Results show that polylactic acid … does not degrade in the marine environment […]
Effects of Microplastics on Cardiotoxicity in Zebrafish Larvae Studied
According to the abstract of a Chemosphere article to be published July 2023 by researchers with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology “… The size of microplastics (MPs) plays an important role in combined toxic effects including synergistic or antagonistic effects … we employed a zebrafish model to investigate the effects of MP size on […]
Micro-and Nanoplastic Particles (MNPs) – Endocrine Disruptor Effects in Rats Studied
According to the abstract of an April 23, 2023 Particle and Fibre Toxicology article by researchers with Rutgers University and Harvard University “… Exposure to micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) in humans is being identified in both the indoor and outdoor environment. Detection of these materials in the air has made inhalation exposure to MNPs a major cause for […]
Plastic Waste – How Plastic Pollution could be Reduced by 80 per cent by 2040
On May 16, 2023, the United Nations Environment Programme released a report “… ahead of a second round of negotiations in Paris on a global agreement to beat plastic pollution …” https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-roadmap-outlines-solutions-cut-global-plastic-pollution and https://www.unep.org/resources/turning-off-tap-end-plastic-pollution-create-circular-economy – According the news release: “… Plastic pollution could reduce by 80 per cent by 2040 if countries and companies make deep policy and market shifts using existing technologies … […]
Google Issues “Single-Use Plastics Challenge, an open invitation to help reduce plastic waste” in its Food Service Operations
In an April 19, 2023 blog Google announced that the company is “… rethinking our approach to the way we source products, serve food and reduce our waste. We’re looking to switch from using single-use disposable products in our onsite food service operations to more reusable solutions … to help further reduce the plastic footprint across food […]
Micro and Nanoplastics (MNPs) Particles – Effects and Impacts on Food Safety Examined
According to the abstract of an April 2023 Trends in Analytical Chemistry article by researchers from Australia, Germany, UK, Thailand and the Czech Republic “… The effects of Micro and nanoplastics (MNPs) particles on food safety and security remain largely unknown … Multiple analytical methods must be combined to elucidate how MNPs affect food safety and security […]