On Thursday 28 October, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation to tighten the limit values for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in waste.
POPs are highly toxic chemical substances used in pesticides and industrial processes that persist for many years in the environment and bioaccumulate, posing a risk to human health and the environment.
The proposed regulation aims to amend the annexes of EU Regulation 2019/1021 on POPs.
“Removing persistent chemical substances in waste is essential to protect our health and our environment. Ambitious limits for these substances are also needed to foster high-quality, toxic-free secondary materials that can be safely used in a growing circular economy ”, said Commissioner for Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius in a statement.
Article 15(2) of the POPs Regulation states that the European Commission shall keep Annexes IV and V under constant review and make proposals, if necessary, to adapt them to scientific and technical progress, to changes in the list of substances in the Annexes to the Stockholm Convention on POPs or the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)