Welcome to Higginson Strategy’s weekly round-up of international news relating to plastic pollution.
This week, the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Environmental Protection Agency announce a joint plan to monitor microplastics in tap water and the human body in the US. A new study authored by Dr Heather Leslie and supported by Plastic Soup Foundation and the Flotilla Foundation concludes that microplastics are embedded across every corner of modern life. The global packaging industry faces rising costs and supply disruption as the Iran conflict drives up plastic prices and freight rates. Exchange for Change proposes grants and exemptions for small independent retailers ahead of the 2027 Deposit Return Scheme rollout in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Finally, University of Cambridge researchers unveil a solar-powered reactor that converts plastic waste and old car battery acid into clean hydrogen.
RFK, Jr. and EPA announce plan to track microplastics in tap water and humans
The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a joint effort to track microplastics in drinking water. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., stated the policy is to address growing concerns over the health impact of microplastics in tap water.
Microplastics will be placed on the Contaminant Candidate List, classifying them as priority contaminants to monitor under the EPA’s rules on the U.S.’s drinking water. The program will build and standardise detection and measuring tools, “map” microplastics in the body, and develop strategies to reduce and remove them.
Read more here.
Study finds microplastics ‘lurking in every corner of our lives’
A report authored by Dr Heather Leslie and funded by the Plastic Soup Foundation and the Flotilla Foundation, claims people are being continually exposed to microplastics in their homes, outdoors and from a variety of unexpected and emerging sources.
The study analyses over 350 peer-reviewed studies and says the science is showing “conclusively that there is significant microplastic release” across five categories – food and food-related sources, indoor sources, outdoor sources/recreation, children’s products, and personal/health care. It argues plastic pollution is more than just an environmental health issue and should be seen as a continuous, systemic crisis embedded, across modern society.
Read more here.
How packaging became a casualty of the Iran war
The global packaging industry is being hit by the Iran war through higher plastic prices, disrupted shipping and rising energy costs. The immediate pressure is strongest in plastic packaging, where producers depend on petrochemical feedstocks and shipping routes linked to the Gulf.
As the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, resin supply has tightened, freight costs have risen and buyers in food, drink, beauty and household goods are paying more for jars, films, bottles and tubes.
Read more here.
Exchange for Change proposes exemptions and grants for indie retailers ahead of DRS
Exchange for Change, the operator for the DRS in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, has outlined proposals to support small and independent retailers with grants and possible exemptions ahead of the October 2027 rollout.
Under current regulations, retailers in urban areas with a retail space under 100m2 will be automatically exempt from operating a return point. It is now exploring additional exemption criteria that could apply to other small retailers based on the size of the premises.
Read more here.
New solar reactor creates clean hydrogen from plastic waste and car battery acid
Developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, a new solar-powered reactor could revolutionise plastic waste recycling, in a process that uses old car battery acid to convert discarded materials into clean hydrogen.
“We’re not promising to fix the global plastics problem,” said Professor Erwin Reisner from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry. “But this shows how waste can become a resource. The fact we can create value from plastic waste using sunlight and discarded battery acid makes this a really promising process.”
Read more here.