Background: Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
- The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international treaty that was adopted in 2001 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The treaty’s objective is to reduce and eliminate production, use and releases of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are carbon-based substances that are resistant to degradation in the environment, able to travel long distances across international boundaries, accumulate in living organisms, and are toxic to humans and wildlife. They consist primarily of pesticides, industrial chemicals, and unintentional by-products of industrial processes.
- In force since May 2004, the Convention now contains 31 entries, listing the POPs on three annexes: Annex A-listed substances targeted for elimination with few specific exemptions; Annex B-listed substances restricted with certain acceptable uses and exemptions; and Annex C-listed substances subject to reduction of unintentional releases “with the goal of continuing minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination.” Additionally, the treaty has established strict provisions for the safe handling of POP stockpiles and the disposal of wastes containing the substances.
- Examples of these targeted POPs include aldrin, PFOA, PCBs, and SCCPs listed on Annex A; Annex B-listed substances DDT, and PFOS and PFOSF; and Annex C-listed substances like PCDD, PCDF, hexachlorobenzene, and polychlorinated naphthalenes.
Background: implementation of the Stockholm Convention in the EU
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants (POPs Regulation) implements the European Union’s commitments under the Stockholm Convention and the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Aarhus Protocol).
- Annex I to the POPs Regulation contains substances or substance groups as listed in the Convention and the Aarhus Protocol. The annex includes the chemical names, identifiers (i.e., CAS and EC numbers), and any applicable exemptions on intermediate use and/or other specifications. Under Article 3(1), manufacturing, marketing, and use of the Annex I-listed POPs are banned, except where certain Article 4 exemptions apply.
- The other annexes to the POPs Regulation consist of lists of the substances subject to restriction (Annex II, which is currently empty), those subject to release reduction provisions under Article 6 (Annex III), and those subject to waste management provisions under Article 7 (Annexes IV and V), which will be discussed in more detail below. Annex VI lists the legal acts repealed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1021; Annex VII provides a conversion table for practitioners familiar with the preceding, now repealed Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 to better orientate themselves with the current POPs Regulation.
Background: managing waste that contains or is contaminated by POPs
- Annex IV comprises the POPs which are subject to waste management provisions under Article 7.
- Producers and holders of waste are required under Article 7(1) to “undertake all reasonable efforts to avoid, where feasible, contamination of this waste with the substances listed in Annex IV.”
- Waste containing or contaminated by Annex IV-listed POPs must be disposed of or recovered “without undue delay” in such a way that “the POP content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed so that the remaining waste and releases do not exhibit the characteristics of POPs” (Article 7(2)). To this end, companies are required to follow the Waste Directive (2008/98/EC) disposal and recovery operations that are set out in Part 1 of Annex V to the POPs Regulation.
- Annex IV includes, in addition to the chemical names and accompanying identifiers (i.e., CAS and EC numbers), concentration limits below which the listed POPs contained in, or contaminating, waste “may be otherwise disposed of or recovered in accordance with the relevant Union legislation” (Article 7(4)a). In other words, Article 7(4)a stipulates that if the Annex IV-listed substances are present in waste below the specified concentration limits, that waste may, for example, be recycled pursuant to relevant Union rules.
- According to Article 7(4)b, member states may “in exceptional cases” allow wastes specified in Part 2 of Annex V that contain, or are contaminated by, Annex IV-listed POPs “to be dealt with” in an alternative way. Namely, these types of POPs- contaminated waste may be stored (instead of “destroyed or irreversibly transformed”) in accordance with the maximum concentration limits for the Annex IV-listed POPs (i.e., given in the third column) and according to the methods (i.e., the operation conditions in the final column) accompanying these waste types. The listed waste types, along with their 6-digit codes, are taken from Decision 2000/532/EC on the list of wastes. To take advantage of these Part 2/Annex V provisions, waste holders and the relevant member states must fulfill the conditions provided by points i, ii, iii, and iv under Article 7(4)b.
MEPs have approved stricter limits on POPs in waste aimed at creating cleaner product streams in the Circular Economy
- Last week, the European Parliament adopted new rules on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and accompanying waste management provisions, in a plenary vote of 534 MEPs for the proposal and 25 against, with 66 abstentions.
- This amendment is being undertaken to harmonize the EU’s POPs Regulation with updates to the Stockholm Convention and, concurrently, to meet the objectives of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability toward a toxic-free environment and the circular economy ambition under the European Green Deal.
- The updates to the POPs waste management provisions are significant given that these substances can remain intact in products long after their useful lives have expired and end up in waste streams. The introduction of lower Annex IV concentration limits is intended to eliminate these dangerous substances from waste and, thereby, reduce potential exposure or releases of the POPs in the circular lifespan of relevant products.
- The adopted legislation makes the following changes:
| Substances added to Annexes IV and V concerning waste management | ||
| Substance/Substance Group | Annex IV concentration limits | Part 2 of Annex V maximum concentration limits (MCLs) |
| Pentachlorophenol, its salts and esters | 100 mg/kg | 1 000 mg/kg |
| Dicofol | 50 mg/kg | 5 000 mg/kg |
| Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA- related compounds |
1 mg/kg (PFOA and its salts), 40 mg/kg (sum of PFOA-related compounds) Note that within five years of the regulation’s entry into force, the Commission will review and possibly lower these concentration limits, “where such lowering is feasible in accordance with scientific and technical progress.” |
50 mg/kg (PFOA and its salts), 2 000 mg/kg (PFOA-related compounds) |
| Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds |
1 mg/kg (PFHxS and its salts), 40 mg/kg (sum of PFHxS-related compounds) Note that within five years of the regulation’s entry into force, the Commission will review and possibly lower these concentration limits, “where such lowering is feasible in accordance with scientific and technical progress.” |
50 mg/kg (PFHxS and its salts), 2 000 mg/kg (PFHxS-related compounds) |
| Updates to existing substances in Annexes IV and V concerning waste management | ||
| Substance/Substance Group | Annex IV concentration limits | Part 2 of Annex V maximum concentration limits (MCLs) |
| Alkanes C10-C13, chloro (short-chain chlorinated paraffins) (SCCPs) |
1 500 mg/kg Note that within five years of the regulation’s entry into force, the Commission will consider lowering this concentration limit. |
MCL remains the same. |
|
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (The adopted regulation adds decabromodiphenyl ether (C12Br10O) to the entry)
|
Sum of the concentrations of C12H6Br4O, C12H5Br5O, C12H4Br6O, C12H3Br7O and C12Br10O: 500 mg/kg, lowered to 350 mg/kg three years after regulation’s entry into force, and lowered again to 200 mg/kg five years after entry into force. |
MCL remains the same. |
|
Dioxins and furans (PCDDs/PCDFs and dl-PCBs) (The adopted regulation adds dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) to the entry) |
5 μg/kg (the limit is calculated as the sum of PCDD, PCDF and dl-PCBs according to the toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) set out in Part 2 of Annex.) Also note that within five years of the regulation’s entry into force, the Commission will review and possibly lower the concentration limit, “where such lowering is feasible in accordance with scientific and technical progress.” |
MCL remains the same, though the new member, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs), is added to the entry. Likewise, the toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) are amended considering the new member of the entry, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl- PCBs). |
| Hexabromocyclododecane |
500 mg/kg Note that within five years of the regulation’s entry into force, the Commission will review and possibly lower the concentration limit to “not higher than 200 mg/kg.” |
MCL remains the same.
|
- A new Article 21a transitions in concentration limits specific to the following waste types for the Annex IV-listed dioxins and furans (PCDDs/PCDFs and dl-PCBs). On the regulation’s entry into force, the limit for fly ashes from biomass units for heat and power production is set at 10 μg/kg; this value is lowered to 5 μg/kg one year after entry into force. Similarly, the limit is set for ashes and soot from private households at 15 μg/kg until 31 December 2024, with the limit being lowered to 5 μg/kg starting 1 January 2025.
- The following new waste types are added to Part 2 of Annex V:
| 10 01 03: fly ash from peat and untreated wood |
| 17 05 04: soil and stones other than those mentioned in 17 05 03 |
| 20 MUNICIPAL WASTES (HOUSEHOLD WASTE AND SIMILAR COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL WASTES) INCLUDING SEPARATELY COLLECTED FRACTIONS |
| 20 01: separately collected fractions (except 15 01) |
| 20 01 41: wastes from chimney sweeping |
- A new provision stipulates that the Commission will be required to assess whether amending EU waste legislation (i.e., the Waste Directive and Decision 2000/532/EC on the list of wastes) is necessary to ensure that waste containing any POPs exceeding the limits is classified as hazardous. This task must be completed within three years of the regulation’s entry into force and, if found to be necessary, the Commission will put forward a legislative proposal to make the relevant changes.
What’s next?
- The regulation as adopted by the European Parliament now will be forwarded to the Council, which must also formally adopt the regulation, in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, before it can be published in the EU Official Journal. Once the regulation has been published and enters into force, it will begin to apply six months later.
To contact the author of this item, please email Scott Stephens ( [email protected])
Key Documents and Dates
- Regulation (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants (October 4, 2022)
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on persistent organic pollutants (June 25, 2019)
