Projects & Publications
2007-2008 Outreach and Screening Project
With funding from U.S. EPA New England, the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH) continues its outreach and testing of packaging aimed at reducing the amount of toxic heavy metals entering solid waste and recycling streams. This project addresses and builds on the results of the 2005-2006 packaging screening project (see below) that documented a significant amount of retail packaging containing heavy metals restricted by state toxics in packaging laws.
Assessment of Heavy Metals in Packaging
The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse screened 355 packages for the presence of four restricted metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium) between October 2005 and February 2006 using a portable x-ray fluorescence analyzer. The results of this EPA-funded project were released in June 2007.
Model Legislation Evaluation Reports
The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse and member states periodically review the effectiveness of the model toxics in packaging legislation and state laws based on the model. The first such review, Model Toxics in Packaging Legislation: An Evaluation of its Provisions, Administration, and Impact, was published in 1994, and the second review was published in 1998.
Summary of 1998 Evaluation Report
Download 1998 Evaluation Report
Download 1994 Evaluation Report