The European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates (ECPI, Brussels / Belgium; www.ecpi.org) has expressed its disappointment with the European Parliament’s plenary vote against the European Commission’s proposal to authorise the recycling of flexible PVC containing the plasticiser DEHP. While the Commission does not have to agree with the parliament’s assessment, the latter’s vote challenges the process previously brought underway by the Commission, under which the recycling of flexible PVC containing DEHP is deemed acceptable under the REACH regulations.

ECPI pointed out that in September 2014, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA, Helsinki / Finland; http://echa.europa.eu), the body that administrates REACH, recommended that DEHP be authorised for use in specific applications, including recycled soft PVC. Referring to this recommendation, the council asks that the scientific conclusions be accepted, adding, “We hope for a positive confirmation to be finally given to the authorisation for the continued recycling of soft PVC containing DEHP to produce PVC articles and the formulation of recycled soft PVC containing DEHP in compounds and dry-blends.”

Failure to do so, ECPI – which is a sector group of the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic, Brussels / Belgium; www.cefic.org) – warns, could undermine the recycling of flexible PVC. In Europe alone, about 200,000 t is reused each year. A decision not to authorise the recycling of PVC containing DEHP could result in a rise in incineration, landfill and export outside the EU, ECPI general manager Stéphane Content said.

The EU member state committee (MSC) in December last year voted unanimously in favour of classifying DEHP as a “substance of very high concern” (SVHC) due to its potential endocrine-disrupting effect on the environment – for details, see Plasteurope.com of 17.12.2014.