Contents
~ Campbell Soup Announces Sustainable Packaging Goals
~ Microplastics – California to Adopt Drinking Water Regulations
~ Microplastics (MPs) – Effect on Caddisfly Species Reported
~ Microplastic Concentrations Mapped in Japanese Waterways
Campbell Soup Announces Sustainable Packaging Goals – On May 6, 2020, Campbell Soup announced “… new packaging sustainability goals to reduce packaging waste … The four goals are designed to address all phases of the packaging lifecycle, from sourcing to end-of-life, including recycling or composting … The holistic approach aims to reduce packaging waste through investments in recyclability, use of recycled content, and consumer education and infrastructure with the following four goals: Transition 100% of packaging to recyclable or industrially compostable designs and materials by 2030. Increase the use of post-consumer recycled content and incorporate 25% post-consumer recycled content into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by 2030. Drive increases in recycling rates through standardized on-pack labeling by including the How2Recycle label on 100% of packaging by 2022. Expand access to recycling and advance the development of infrastructure to improve the collection and recycling of packaging by building and investing in partnerships with peers and industry groups …” #CampbellSoup #SingleUsePackaging #PlasticWaste #FoodPackaging
Microplastics – California to Adopt Drinking Water Regulations
– According to a May 6, 2020 Hunton Andrews Kurth law firm article by State law “… the California State Water Resources Control Board is required adopt a definition for Microplastics in Drinking Water by July 1, 2020. Additionally, before July 1, 2021, the State Board must: (1) adopt a standard methodology for testing drinking water for microplastics; (2) adopt a requirement for four years of testing and reporting of microplastics in drinking water, including public disclosure of the results; (3) consider issuing a notification level or other guidance to help consumers interpret the testing results; and (4) accredit laboratories in California to analyze for microplastics. The State Board can implement these requirements through adoption of a Policy Handbook, rather than through the formal rulemaking process … suppliers in California will be the first in the nation to test for microplastics in drinking water …” #Microplastics #DrinkingWater #SingleUsePlastic #PlasticWaste
Microplastics (MPs) – Effect on Caddisfly Species Reported
– According to an April 20, 2020 article published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research by researchers with the Federal Institute of Hydrology in Koblenz, Germany, caddisfly species “… actively used sand, PET and PVC MPs for building tube-like portable or emergency cases … case stability decreased with increasing PVC and PET particle content in the cases, suggesting that MPs may threaten caddisflies by destabilising cases. When case stability is reduced, the protective function of the cases is limited and the larvae may be more prone to predation. Additionally, larvae may be washed away by the current as plastic is lighter than sand. Both effects could limit the caddisfly’s survival, which could have far-reaching consequences as caddisfly larvae are important primary consumers in aquatic ecosystems …” #Caddisflies #MicroPlastics #SingleUsePlastic #PlasticWaste #PlasticPackaging
Microplastic Concentrations Mapped in Japanese Waterways
– According to a May 7, 2020 Tokyo University of Science news release “… Plastic may be an indispensable part of our daily lives, but its robustness and abundance … [is] putting a huge burden on the environment. Because plastic does not decompose in water, it is a serious hazard for the marine life … [university scientists] … followed a three-step process to map microplastic (MicP) concentration across 70 rivers and 90 sites in Japan and examined the relation between MicP concentration and land characteristics … They identified the critical areas where plastic emissions were the highest. Their analysis showed that these emissions were high in rivers near urbanized areas, with a high population density. Among these, cities like Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka were found to be hotspots … this method was useful in understanding exactly where strict countermeasures should be enforced … findings provide new insights that may be used to draft countermeasures against plastic emissions …” not only in Japan, but around the world – #PlasticWaste #SingleUsePlastic #Microplastics #PlasticFoodPackaging
