Joint Letter: Don’t allow banned chemicals in household products!

Today, Commissioner Vella received a letter supported by 29 NGOs, including ECOS, urging the European Commission to ban the recycling of materials containing the toxic flame retardant DecaBDE. 

DecaBDE is primarily used in plastics for electronic and electrical equipment, and in textiles. It has been concluded from an expert evaluation by the POPRC, that DecaBDE poses “a significant concern for human health and the environment”[1]. 

The letter stresses that hazardous chemicals must be eliminated in order to move towards a Circular Economy, and that the Commission should oppose a recycling exemption for materials containing DecaBDE in time for the Stockholm Convention POPs Review Committee in October.