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Five years after its first iteration, yesterday (11 March 2020), the European Commission launched its new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) as part of the overall European Green Deal.

The CEAP contains many proposals.  We will explore others (including those relating to batteries, packaging, plastics, textiles, ‘safe-by-design’ chemicals, non-financial reporting and shipment of waste) in separate posts.

For now, here is a brief outline of some of the more eye-catching proposals from a ‘sustainable products’ – in particular, electronics – perspective.
Continue Reading New EU Circular Economy Action Plan and Sustainable Product Policy

Our EU law environmental and product regulatory teams have been following the passage of a significant new law through the French parliament: ‘the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Bill’ (Projet de loi relatif à la lutte contre le gaspillage et à l’économie circulaire) (the Bill).

Key features of the Bill include:

  1. Radically expanded obligations for producers in relation to waste management
  2. Introduction of a ‘product lifetime score’ to be displayed on some products
  3. Harmonised waste collection rules
  4. New criminal sanctions for planned obsolescence tactics

Continue Reading Waste and the circular economy: French government proposes to increase liability for waste

The European Commission has recently adopted a range of new mandatory ecodesign obligations, which include ecodesign and energy efficiency requirements for energy related products in the EU, pursuant to the EU Ecodesign Framework Directive (Directive 2009/125/EC).
Continue Reading Introduction of new ecodesign measures for energy related products in the EU

Following on from the consultations carried out in 2018, and as had been expected, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced yesterday that it will move to add 18 substances of very high concern (SVHC) to Annex XIV of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), i.e. the “Authorisation List”.

As a reminder, substances included on the Authorisation List cannot be “placed on the market” or used after a given date – the ‘sunset date’ –  unless a user obtains authorisation from ECHA or where the use itself is exempt. The list of substances and their common commercial uses, annexed to the ECHA announcement, is replicated below (please click on the image to enlarge).Continue Reading REACH update: ECHA adds 18 SVHCs to the Authorisation List

The European Commission is inviting interested parties to submit their comments and concerns related to EU legislation on the following topics:

  1. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive: This is merely a generic request for feedback. The Commission will be releasing a revised RoHS Directive in 2021 and is, therefore, offering a chance for industry to have its say on the effectiveness of the RoHS Directive in its current form, so that, in its words, the revisions to the Directive are able to strike a balance in protecting the rights and interests of all the affected stakeholder groups.

The purpose of this consultation is to gather views on how the restriction of hazardous substances in electronic products works in practice: what works well, what does not and why. Any submissions should be prepared and submitted in the manner prescribed on the consultation page. The last date for submissions is 6 December 2019.Continue Reading EU consultation watch: EU Commission launches new consultations on RoHS and ELV directives

Overall, the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (EC No. 1013/2006) (the EWSR) is effective, relevant and coherent, and adds value at the EU level.

Those were the conclusions of the Trinomics study supporting the evaluation by the European Commission of the fitness for purpose of the EWSR (here: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/926420bc-8284-11e9-9f05-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-99087502).

Many in business who have grappled with the EWSR may beg to differ. In fairness, the study did also highlight a number of areas for improvement with which few would disagree, including the need for greater harmonisation of enforcement policy between member states, more consistent application of waste classifications by national authorities, and quicker, less cumbersome notification and approval procedures.

Arguably, however, the most interesting and strategically important challenge facing the EWSR is how it must evolve to support the EU’s Circular Economy plans.Continue Reading Circular Economy and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation: why changes to the latter are critical to the success of the former

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s (OEHHA) announced on March 15, 2019, that it is collecting public comments regarding the inclusion of cannabis on the Proposition 65 list of substances known to cause birth defects. Such a finding by OEHHA would require those in the California cannabis industry to change their warning labels, informing users of the risk of birth defects.

One of the many challenges facing the cannabis industry is ensuring compliance with a state’s evolving labeling and warning requirements. Manufacturers, distributors and retailers in the California cannabis industry may have to anticipate further changes in light of the State developing new information about cannabis and related products.Continue Reading Reprint may soon be needed for California cannabis warning labels