Dear Reader,

This week, a report by PlastChem has found at least 3,000 more chemicals are in plastics than originally thought. Researchers from the University of Exeter and the North Cyprus Society for the Protection of Turtles found 67 pieces of plastic inside just one turtle in the Mediterranean. French and German consumers say brands that import plastic waste to create products with recycled content are greenwashing, according to a poll by Eastman. Hong Kong’s environment chief Tse Chin-wan reports 80 percent of the dining industry is not prepared for the incoming ban on single-use plastics. Finally, California has released the draft regulations for a comprehensive law introducing plastic reduction policies including Extended Producer Responsibility.   

As always, we hope you enjoy reading.

John Higginson
Editor-in-Chief
Plastic Free Post

Chemicals in plastics higher than previous estimates

A report by PlastChem has found at least 3,000 more chemicals are in plastics,  from food packaging to toys to medical devices, than previously estimated by environment agencies.
 
While the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) had previously identified around 13,000, the report found more than 16,000 chemicals. A quarter of which are thought to be hazardous to human health and the environment.

Read more here.

Plastic Halloween rubbish found in turtle stomachs

Research led by the University of Exeter and the North Cyprus Society for the Protection of Turtles (SPOT) found a range of ‘macroplastics’ – pieces larger than five mm – in the guts of dead sea turtles in the Mediterranean.
 
Among the 67 pieces of plastic found in one turtle, researchers found a plastic Halloween witch’s finger which experts believe was likely eaten by the turtle that thought it was a crab’s claw. In total, the research team found 492 pieces of plastic when they examined 135 loggerhead turtles that were washed up or accidentally caught in fishing nets off northern Cyprus.

Read more here.

Survey reports adults fear greenwashing among brands that use imported plastic waste

A poll of French and German citizens found three in five consumers would be bothered to learn that recycled products are being produced with imported plastic waste.
 
More than half of German (59 percent) and French (56 percent) consumers say brands that import plastic waste to create products with recycled content are greenwashing. Respondents were also concerned about the impact of imported waste to make recycled products on their health.

Read more here.

Hong Kong’s dining industry not prepared for ban on single-use plastics

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan reported that 80 percent of the 20,000 small and medium-sized restaurants visited by his department to explain the regulations of the ban on single-use plastics that comes into effect next month are not getting non-plastic products ready ahead of the legislation.
 
The findings have prompted Chin-wan to offer free non-plastic tableware samples, as well as provide information on alternatives and where to source them to business owners. Public education on the incoming ban has been criticised amid citizens’ panic buying cotton buds and other items due to fears the products would disappear.

Read more here.

California releases draft regulations for plastic pollution law

US state California has initiated the formal rulemaking process for a law aimed at significantly reducing single-use plastic and packaging waste in the region through a comprehensive Extended Producer Responsibility policy. 
 
The measures are part of the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act and mandates producers to decrease single-use plastic waste and ensure that their product packaging is either recyclable or compostable. 

Read more here.

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