Chemicals | Monthly bulletin | August 2023

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Europe

Regulation (EU) 2023/1464 - Formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers

On 14^thJuly, the European Commission published the Regulation (EU) 2023/1464, which amend Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers.
The directive modifies Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 adding entry 77, which announce the following:

After 6 August 2026, the following articles that Formaldehyde (CAS: 50-00-0) and substance that release formaldehyde shall not be placed on the market if, under the test conditions specified in Appendix 14, the concentration of formaldehyde released from them exceeds the following values:

- 062 mg/m3 for furniture and wood articles
- 080 mg/m3 for articles other than furniture and wood articles.

Additionally,

After 6 August 2026, shall not be placed on the market formaldehyde in road vehicles, if under the test conditions specified in Appendix 14, the concentration of formaldehyde released from them exceeds the following values:

- 062 mg/m3 for interior of those vehicles

For more information, please check on official publication in European Commission website here.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1435 – Amend on CLP Regulation

On 2^nd May, the European Parliament published COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2023/1435 amend Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures as regards the modification of entries in Part 3 of Annex VI for 2-ethylhexanoic acid and its salts, boric acid, diboron trioxide, tetraboron disodium heptaoxide hydrate, disodium tetraborate anhydrous, orthoboric acid sodium salt, disodium tetraborate decahydrate, and disodium tetraborate pentahydrate.

The following index numbers 005-007-00-2, 005-008-00-8, 005-011-00-4 and 607-230-00-6 which appear on Annex VI have been replaced.

This modification shall apply from 1 February 2025. However, suppliers may classify, label and package substances and mixtures listed in the Annex to this Regulation in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, as amended by this Regulation, as from 31 July 2023.

If you would like to check the entries affected, please consult the official publication here.

Rhode Island Extends Effective Date for PFAS in Food Packaging Law

On June 22, 2023, the State of Rhode Island approved Bill H5861 Substitute A as amended to amend Bill H7438 Substitute A that prohibits intentionally added PFAS chemicals in food packages. Under the amendment, the effective date of the prohibition was extended from January 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024.

Sustainability, circular economy and environment

Fight against Deforestation – New Regulation (EU) 2023/1115

On 31th of May 2023, European Parliament published and adopted the Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation. Which aimed at tackling deforestation and forest degradation driven by the European Union (EU) and it repeals Regulation (EU) No 995/2010.

This new regulation lays down rules regarding the placing and making available on EU's market, as well as the export from the EU of relevant products, that contain, have been fed with or have been made using relevant commodities, with a view to minimising the EU's contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, and reducing the EU's contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global biodiversity loss.

This new regulation shall affect goods classified in Annex I of this regulation, which include as relevant commodity Wood products and relevant products such as: Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood, packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packing’s, Tableware and kitchenware, of Wood as well as many other products.

For more information, please consult the official publication here.

Miscellaneous technical publications relating to environmental, plastics, packaging and waste

The table below summarises the most recent publications regarding the environment, circular economy and sustainability (non-exhaustive):

Entity	Date	Publication
European parlament	05/06/2023	Fast fashion's high production and disposal rates have led to significant environmental impacts. The EU aims to combat this by reducing textile waste, promoting longer garment lifecycles, and encouraging textile recycling to achieve a circular economy by 2050. Because of that "The impact of textile production and waste on the environment (infographics)" was published with the aim to aid compliance.
European parlament	07/07/2023	Environmental impact of waste management – revision of EU waste framework The Waste Framework Directive prioritizes waste prevention and re-use to protect public health and the environment through proper waste management. It aims to minimize waste generation and improve separate collection for recycling.
European parlament	06/07/2023	Proposal on substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive) The proposal aims to update Union consumer law to protect consumers and empower them in the green transition. It focuses on providing reliable and transparent information to tackle greenwashing, promote sustainable choices, and integrate sustainability into reporting cycles. This complements the New Circular Economy Action Plan and the New Consumer Agenda.
EFSA : The European Food Safety Authority	03/07/2023	The EFSA Panel assessed the safety of Coca-Cola HBC's recycling process and CCH CIRCULARPET recycling process using NGR technology for PET flakes. In both cass, the melt-state polycondensation step is crucial for decontamination and the process ensures migration of unknown contaminants into food is below 0.1 μg/kg. Recycled PET obtained can be safely used up to 100% for food contact materials, including drinking water, at room temperature, but not intended for microwave or conventional ovens.
France Goverment - French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion	06/07/2023	Decree 2023-504 of June 22, 2023 containing various provisions relating to the environmental assessment of plans and programs aims to make changes to the environmental evaluation process for certain plans and programs in France. It modify R122.17 of French Environmental code by changing and adding new items to the list of evaluated plans and programs for "national low-carbon strategy" (Stratégie nationale bas carbone).
France Goverment - French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion	06/07/2023	Decree of June 16, 2023, establishing the national model for environmental authorization requests sets the national model for environmental authorization applications in France. The applicant can use the provided form (CERFA no 15964*03) available on the website. Repealing the previous decree of 2019.
France Goverment - French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion	06/07/2023	French government open a consultation to establish criteria for removing waste status for pyrolysis oil from a plastic waste pyrolysis operation, for material use within a petrochemical unit, seeking to establish criteria for removing the waste status from pyrolysis oil derived from plastic waste. The project aims to encourage the use of pyrolysis oil and outlines requirements for the composition of plastic waste accepted in the pyrolysis process and the quality of the resulting oil, being in line with the directive n°2008/98/CE.
French National Consumer Council (CNC)	06/07/2023	The guide (Practical Guide to Environmental Claims for Consumers and Professionals) urges economic actors to conduct a legal audit of their environmental claims and provides guidelines for the use of various environmental claims. Note: the guide is not legally binding, but it serves as reference and may be considered legal.
Spain Goverment - Spain Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion	19/07/2023	The information states that errors were noticed in the insertion of Order TED/646/2023, regarding to determining when thermoplastic waste subjected to mechanical treatments and intended for the production of plastic products ceases to be waste in accordance with Law 7/2022.