The EU's current circular economy policy, which originally focused on increasing the recycling rate of different products and materials, is expected to incorporate chemical-related aspects into its policy development goals after the strategy is revised this year.
This strategy will also amend six other waste disposal directives, including the Packaging Directive, the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive, the Battery Directive, and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE).
Kestutis Sadauskas, Green Economy Director of the European Commission's Environment Agency, stated that the strategy revision will be a good opportunity to strengthen the management of chemicals and find ways to extract hazardous chemicals from materials and products recycled or reused under the circular economy strategy. The quality of recycled materials will determine the survival of the circular economy market, and the European Commission hopes to help recyclers create a quality market.
Because the types and states of recycled products and materials vary greatly, and the content and types of hazardous chemicals are numerous, Sadauskas suggests starting with the control of hazardous chemicals in recycled products that have high toxicity, high content, and large recycling quantities, and then gradually achieving the goal of eliminating hazardous chemicals.
There has also been opposition from members of the European Parliament to this amendment. Christel Schaldemose, a member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, pointed out that the circular economy strategy is not a solution to all of the EU's problems, and that strengthening the management of chemicals should be prioritized for specific industries and products.
The head of the consumer committee of the Austrian Standardization Association stated that being able to understand the chemicals in recycled items means that chemical information should be available before the product leaves the factory. Rather than controlling chemicals at the recycling end, it would be better to strengthen the management of hazardous substances before the product leaves the factory.
Sources:Chemical Watch (2015-03-04) (Compiled by PIDC)
