Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1197147
24 / January 2020 powderbulk.com "signi cant initial steps" have been taken by companies. It also noted that companies have been making changes in packaging design, with large rms taking steps to elimi- nate "problematic packaging" like polystyrene and PVC. The major- ity of signatories have also taken steps to stop using single-use bags or straws or phase out carbon black plastic, which can be hard to detect in recycling streams. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works in education and training, business and government, insight and analysis, systemic initiatives, and communication to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. US EPA settles chemical data reporting violation with Miles Chemical The US EPA has settled with Miles Chemical Co. Inc., located in Arleta, CA, for failing to timely report chemical substances it imported. In penalty, the company agreed to pay $45,000. The company failed to timely submit forms relating to its import of large quantities of two chemicals. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, chemi- cal importers and manufacturers are required to submit Chemical Data Reporting information to the EPA every 4 years. The reporting applies to the EPA's TSCA Inven- tory, which is a list of 85,000 chem- ical substances, manufactured or imported at volumes of 25,000 pounds or greater. Reporting allows the EPA to track the chemicals being imported into the country, assess the potential human health and environmental effects of these chemicals, and make the noncon- dential business information it receives available to the public. Miles Chemical is a chemical services company that serves the metal manufacturing, surface n- the progress of the New Plastics Economy initiative, which aims to build momentum toward a plastics system that works by applying the principle of the circular economy. Unilever PLC, Mars Inc., and PepsiCo Inc. have plans to cut virgin plastics packaging use by 2025 by 50 percent, 25 percent, and 20 percent in its beverage business, respectively. These are only some of the signa- tories to the New Plastics Economy program with the full list available at newplasticseconomy.org. Com- panies that have signed on to the program represent 20 percent of the world's plastics packaging models, including seven out of the 10 largest makers of plastics packaging. According to the report's nd- ings, while it's only been a year since commitments were made, Ellen MacArthur Foundation campaign elicits commitments to use fewer virgin plastics The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity based in Cowes, England, launched a campaign in 2018 to help reduce the amount of virgin plastics used by some of the world's biggest users of packaging. The foundation has secured six of the 10 largest fast-moving consumer goods companies to reduce the environmental footprint of their single-use plastics and is now ask- ing those same companies to also pledge to decrease their virgin plastics use. The foundation is mak- ing the recommendation based on a report that it prepared with the aid of the United Nations Envi- ronment Program after reviewing