Plastics and rubber materials are both made from the same families of polymers. The polymers are mixed with a complex blend of materials known as additives. Rubbers are elastomers, these are polymers with an elastic property. This elasticity differentiates rubbers from plastics
Article 8 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC defines the marking and identification of packaging materials. The identification of the nature of the packaging material facilitates collection, reuse, recovery and recycling of packaging.
BREXIT affects the business for consumer products on the UK market dramatically. The legal obligations that apply to consumer products under EU REACH are extensive. The same goes for UK REACH applicable on the UK market.
Food contact materials (FCMs) are materials in food packaging or consumer articles that come into contact with food. These materials can be e.g. plastic, paper, cardboard, glass, ceramics, metal, wood, etc.
After many requests from the European Parliament for a Common Charger, on 23 September the European Commission proposed an amendment to the Radio Equipment Directive (RED).
Energy labels for luminaires have been cancelled per 25 December 2019, but energy labels for ‘light sources’ remain. Energy label Regulation (EU) 2019/2015, Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 and the European Product Database for Energy Labelling (EPREL) will cause many changes lighting products September 1st, 2021.
The scope of product legislation can be general ('any product which is intended for consumers or likely, under reasonably foreseeable conditions, to be used by consumers even if not intended for them') and specific ('shall apply to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and
As of 16 July 2021, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 regarding market surveillance and the conformity of harmonised products came into force. In this Regulation a number of loopholes in the legislation are solved and tightened.
The answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. First of all the ‘no’. Switzerland is (of course) not an EU Member State. However, as a result of bilateral agreements, Switzerland can benefit from most advantages comparable to being a Member State.
Due Diligence has been, up to now, largely a matter of self regulation*. Some EU Member States already have Due Diligence legislation, but the problem is only that this legislation is either too sector-specific or only covers certain aspects of the Due Diligence.
Wood is one of the seventeen Food Contact Materials (FCM) listed in Annex I of Framework Regulation (EC) 1935/2004. There is no harmonised EU directive or regulation for wooden FCM articles. EU member states which have implemented national legislation for wood are France, The Netherlands and Croatia.
Both wood and bamboo are commonly used for food contact applications. Besides cutting boards and other kitchen utensils, wood and bamboo are also used for disposable kitchenware as well as for food packaging.