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As part of efforts to combat the harmful environmental impact of plastic litter, the European Union has been rolling out a series of measures. Among them is a ban – introduced in 2021 – on a range of single-use plastics (SUP). These are plastics that are designed to be used once and then thrown away. Many of these products are used to pack, serve and consume food and beverages. They include drinking straws, stirrers and disposable plates. Following the ban on using plastic for the manufacture of these products, they are now being made from alternative materials such as paper, wheat straw and bamboo. RIVM investigated for which products these materials are being used and which chemical substances they might contain. It then assessed whether any of these substances might be harmful to health and whether they could migrate into food. The investigation shows that the materials currently in use potentially contain a wide range of substances. To enable targeted research into their potential risks, RIVM has identified which substances and materials would have to be further investigated first. RIVM conducted this survey on behalf of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).

This chapter analyzes what contribution the private regulation of global labor standards makes to the global governance of labor standards. It discusses the role that global companies play in creating, applying, governing, or resisting this private standard-setting effort, and the major indicators of its effectiveness: the institutional design of standards; the business demand; and the impact of standard-setting efforts at farm and factory sites. The chapter argues that private regulation offers mixed results in terms of protecting or advancing worker rights. Although the effectiveness of private regulation varies slightly across sectors, the economic conditions of production, the national-institutional features discouraging worker organization, and the uneven and often half-hearted engagement of global industry players with private regulation offer a too unfavorable opportunity structure for private regulatory organizations to deliver results.

We studied the current management of STD-related syndromes by urban health facilities in Pikine (Senegal) in 252 consecutive patients presenting with STD-related complaints, to assess the cost and effectiveness of services and to estimate the potential benefit by introducing management protocols. Most common presenting complaints for women were vaginal discharge and low abdominal pain, reported for 122 (82.9%) and 22 (15.0%) of 147 female patients. Urethral discharge and genital ulceration were reported for 80 (76.2%) and for 17 (16.2%) of 105 male patients. The average cost was 4.01 ECU (1 European Currency Unit = 1.2 US$=334 Franc CFA) for male patients (ranging from 0.57 to 25.70 ECU) and 12.75 ECU for female patients (ranging from 0.57 to 37.60 ECU). Only 20 of 80 patients with urethral discharge (25%) received effective treatment. Effectiveness was not related to cost of therapy or qualification of staff. Utilization of management protocols improves the quality and accessibility of care for STD, by potentially doubling effectiveness and reducing the costs for patients to 12% of the current level.