Legislation

PlasticsEurope, an industry body representing the interests of plastics manufacturers in the EU, are protesting the French ban of bisphenol A that is set to go into effect in January of 2015. The industry group, according to Plastics News, is insisting that France's ban on the endocrine disruptor is uncalled for because, they assert, no real evidence exists to prove that BPA is harmful. Furthermore, they say that France's actions will damage trade relations irreparably for the plastics industry. According to the article:

An article from National Geographic correspondent Brian Clark Howard addresses the commonly stated belief that plastic bag taxes affect lower income people, and comments that this is a fallacy without grounding in actual research. Howard writes in response to a bag tax being debated in Washington, D.C., and particularly with regards to outspoken media pundits whose outcry has been that the poor are suffering as a result of the charge. Writes Howard:

In a move to halt Toronto's swift action against plastic bags, the Canada Plastic Bag Association has launched a lawsuit against the City of Toronto. Plastics News contributor Michael Lauzon writes that the legal proceedings began on November 19th, and were spurred on by the exceptionally fast passage of an uncompromising plastic bag ban by City of Toronto. Lauzon reports:

Last Thursday, the Portland City Council in Oregon met and unanimously decided to expand their currently existing ban on plastic bags to include all retail and food establishments, KOIN News reports. According to an article by Faris Tanyos, the Mayor Sam Adams announced the results following the meeting, along with photos of himself posing with the bag monster, a costume made out of plastic bags designed to raise awareness about plastic pollution. Says Tanyos:

In an article on the Hong Kong Standard on Friday, Candy Chan writes that researchers feel that the bag levy issued on single use plastic bags should contribute to funding the creation of what they say are greener, more sustainable bags. The proposed technology that would be used to create the bags is called oxo-degradable plastic, developed in Canada about a decade ago, and uses the presence of microorganisms to help degrade the plastic. According to the article:

In an enlightening article from Al Jazeera yesterday, contributor Dana Boyd Barr discusses the United States' policy on chemicals, warning consumers that despite recent attention given to removing bisphenol A from food products, they are still exposed to more toxic chemicals than ever before in history. Barr writes that this year marks the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson's seminal work, Silent Spring, which was a text aimed at exposing the untested substances affecting the average American on a day to day basis.

Despite the growing number of conflicting studies and concerns, the United States Food and Drug Administration insists to this day that the chemical bisphenol A is safe for human consumption. BPA is a chemical the average consumer ingests on a fairly regular basis, often unconsciously. According to an article in the Epoch Times, "toxicity" is a concept that many industry and science officials don't seem to agree on -- a term with a particularly flexible definition. Conan Milner writes: 

An article posted by KVUE News has reported that Austin, Texas is currently working on a revised bag ban that aims to clarify the ordinance previously suggested to the city council. Jessica Vess of KVUE News wrote in an article yesterday that these new rules, which should be reviewed for approval in the near future, define the types of bags which are allowed under the ban. She writes:

An article from the Hindu yesterday states that Delhi's new ban on the production of plastic packaging, set to take effect on November 22nd, has drawn the attention of plastic bag advocates who have submitted a petition against the government's mandate. The article states that the reason given for petitioning against the ban was that shutting down plastic bag production would cut a number of jobs, leaving people in search of new work.  The Hindu reports:

Certifications for buildings through the LEED program have risen 51% this year, according to an article in the Environmental Leader, a surge before the implementation of new, revised guidelines for sustainable architecture and building. The article reports that LEED is currently about to undergo beta testing for LEED v4 as part of a mandatory evaluation that takes place every five years. However, the article states that: