Circular economy & chemicals: Problems and Solutions Dr A. Michael Warhurst Executive Director, CHEM Trust OECD Ministerial meeting 29 th September 2016 www.chemtrust.org.uk @chemtrust @mwarhurst
Chemical problems for CE A circular economy should lead to more reuse, recycling, remanufacture and longer product lifetimes But hazardous chemicals can disrupt this: Long lasting products may contain chemicals that have since been banned, disrupting recycling & remanufacturing (& in theory re-use, though this is often ignored) Contamination of feedstock; it s harder to control feedstock quality for a recycled material vs a virgin one Two examples: Bisphenol A (BPA): High volume chemical, used in food can linings, thermal paper, polycarbonate plastics Brominated flame retardants (BFRs): Large group of chemicals, used in furniture, electronics, building products.
1) Bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal paper BPA is used in thermal paper (e.g. till receipts) This then enters the recycled paper stream Problem for circular economy: Recycled paper & card (e.g. pizza boxes) contaminated with BPA [1] BPA an endocrine disrupting chemical, banned in baby bottles Solutions: Stop recycling thermal paper with other paper? Impractical? Restrict BPA use in thermal paper? EU is doing this [2] Regulate recycled paper use in food contact [3]?
2) Brominated Flame Retardants in kitchen plastics Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) used in plastics, e.g. in electronics many restricted, some UNEP POPs (e.g. HBCDD & PentaBDE [4]) Researchers found in black kitchen plastics on sale on EU market Presumably through recycling of e.g. electronics waste [5]
3) BFRs in furniture & building products Widely used, long lived products Increases the chance that will contain banned chemicals by the time they enter the waste stream. A reservoir of hazardous chemicals [6] Recycling can spread contamination E.g. BFR-contaminated polyurethane is being recycled into carpet backing in USA [7] Solutions Rapid action to remove problem chemicals from products, at design stage (including pre-regulation) Not everything can be recycled/remanufactured contaminated materials may need to be disposed of; but information flow needed Balance value of resource vs concern re hazard in policy & regulation
Recommendations 1. Design non-toxic products, with faster, more precautionary, safety assessment and regulation of chemicals 2. Ensure recycled materials & remanufactured goods are properly regulated (with enforcement), e.g. paper/card food contact materials, carpet backing etc. 3. Improve (global) information flow on hazardous materials in finished products 4. Some materials should not be recycled See briefing: http://www.chemtrust.org.uk/circulareconomy
References [1] Test: Unwanted chemicals found in pizza boxes, Danish Consumer Council, 19th Oct 2015 http://kemi.taenk.dk/bliv-groennere/test-unwanted-chemicals-found-pizza-boxes [2] EU Chemical Agency committee agrees that Bisphenol A in receipts poses risk to workers, Jun 2015: http://www.chemtrust.org.uk/eu-chemical-agency-committee-agrees-that-bisphenol-a-in-receiptsposes-risk-to-workers/ [2] Chemicals in food contact materials: A gap in the internal market, a failure in public protection, CHEM Trust, January 2016: http://www.chemtrust.org.uk/foodcontact/ [4] Listing of POPs in the Stockholm Convention, Stockholm Convention: http://chm.pops.int/theconvention/thepops/listingofpops [5] Occurrence of brominated flame retardants in black thermo cups and selected kitchen utensils purchased on the European market, Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, Volume 30, Issue 11, 2013: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19440049.2013.829246#.vyp4uvwwgmu [6] Stubbings, W. A., & Harrad, S. (2014). Extent and mechanisms of brominated flame retardant emissions from waste soft furnishings and fabrics: A critical review. Environment International, 71, 164-175 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0160412014001822 [7] Optimizing Recycling: Post-Consumer Flexible Polyurethane Foam Scrap Used In Building Products, Health Building Network, July 2016: http://www.healthybuilding.net/news/2016/07/29/post-consumer-flexible-polyurethane-foam-scrapused-in-building-products