Work is progressing in EU Council bodies on the Commission’s October 2021 proposal to tighten concentration limits for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in waste to protect the environment and human health.
The update of concentration limits for these highly toxic chemicals would be done by amending Annexes IV and V of the EU POPs Regulation 2019/102, which transposes the Stockholm Convention and the Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (see EUROPE 12822/10).
Substances such as pentachlorophenol, dicofol and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds should be included in the Annexes.
A draft compromise prepared by the French Presidency and viewed by EUROPE will be submitted to the EU Council’s Environment Working Group on 4 March.
It states that the objective of the Regulation can be better achieved at EU level and that the EU can therefore take action, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, while respecting the principle of proportionality.
For the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) listed in the EU Regulation, the text states that the concentration limit for the sum of these substances in waste should be set at 500mg/kg. Taking into account the decreasing concentrations of PBDEs in certain wastes, resulting from existing restrictions on the marketing and use of PBDEs, and in light of possible developments in relevant sorting and analytical methods, the Commission should review this limit and, if appropriate, adopt a legislative proposal to lower this value to a maximum of 200 mg/kg. This shall be done no later than seven years after the entry into force of the Regulation.
The idea for the next stage is to reach agreement at the level of the EU27 ambassadors (Coreper), if possible on 11 March, on a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament.
See the draft compromise: https://aeur.eu/f/kn (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)