The endorsed text for the medical devices Regulation includes a 0.1% concentration limit for category 1A and 1B CMRs and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in devices that:

EDCs are defined as those identified in accordance with the REACH candidate list procedure or according to the criteria set under the biocidal products Regulation. The European Commission's proposed criteria for the latter were issued last week -- and met widespread criticism from NGOs and industry.

Domtar designs, manufactures, markets and distributes pulp, paper, and personal care products. The company's mill in Plymouth, North Carolina, implemented a project to reduce waste to landfill by more than 90% and create a new product for the local agricultural community.

The pulp and paper making process generates significant amounts of manufacturing waste, including wood ash, causticizing residuals, and wastewater treatment residuals. These waste streams are typically managed separately, and can have individual characteristics such as high pH that make them difficult to handle and reuse, Domtar says.

Styles change, and that can be a good thing -- remember super-low-rise jeans? Still, over a consumer's lifetime, all those unworn and unwanted jeans can add up to a lot of waste. Meanwhile, the manufacture of those wardrobe staples uses a huge amount of water, not to mention chemicals that can pollute rivers and streams in places as far away as Bangladesh.

But what if jeans could be made in a nonpolluting way and their raw materials recycled over and over to make new pairs in the latest fashion? That is the promise of the circular economy, the process of turning waste into a resource by reusing and recycling products at the end of their useful life. ...

Some large companies are collaborating to ensure that tomorrow's styles are created with the circular economy in mind. They are doing this by replacing hazardous ingredients and developing technologies that enable the use of more recycled material. At the same time, individual brands hope that their sustainability efforts will help them stand out in a crowded marketplace piled with inexpensive, mass-produced goods.

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TURI's Note: See our page on artificial turf which includes preliminary results for a Sports Turf Alternatives Assessment.

Working with university partners, NIOSH investigators measured emissions from a desktop 3D printer in a specially designed test chamber that simulates real-world conditions. They found that the tested desktop 3D printer released high numbers of particles as it printed. The emissions peaked a few minutes after printing began, and they did not return to baseline until about 100 minutes after printing ended.

The emissions also varied by filament type and color. Filaments made from natural materials like corn emitted smaller particles than plastic filaments did. This could be because the oil-based plastic particles were more likely to form clumps, according to the investigators. Calculations showed that the risk of the particles lodging in the lungs was 3 times higher for the small particles made from natural substances compared with the larger plastic particles. Color also affected particle size, with natural corn-based filaments in the color true red emitting the smallest particles, on average. In contrast, blue plastic filaments emitted the largest particles. ...

IBM researchers say they have discovered a recycling process that converts BPA-leaching plastics into environmentally safe material for water purification and medical devices -- a technological advance that could lead to less plastic waste and cheaper recycled materials manufacturers can use to produce a wide range of products.

Globally, about 2.7 million tons of polycarbonate plastic is produced annually and used to make CDs, baby bottles, eyeglass lenses and smartphones, among other items. Over time, polycarbonates decompose and leach BPA, a chemical that, in 2008, caused retailers to pull plastic baby bottles from store shelves due to concerns about the potential effects of BPA on the brain. Four years later, the EPA banned BPA in baby bottles and children's cups.

Yesterday, IBM Research said scientists at its Almaden lab in San Jose, California said they have discovered a new, one-step chemical process that converts polycarbonates into plastics safe for water purification, fiber optics and medical equipment.