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The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) calls upon the Commission to strengthen its commitment to the Circular Economy. The news was originally published by the Recycling Magazine; please see the full article here. With the release of ECHA´s opinions on infill materials, now it is up to the Commission to take a decision on what measures to follow as regards this application.

The Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) has adopted its opinion on a landmark restriction proposal, which would ban microplastics in products such as cosmetics, detergents, fertilisers and could lead to a ban of its use as soft infill on artificial turf sports pitches. It would prevent the release of 500 000 tonnes of microplastics into the environment over 20 years. The adoption of SEAC’s opinion follows an earlier opinion by the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) in June 2020. Both committees concluded that an EU-wide restriction under the EU’s chemicals legislation REACH is the most appropriate means to address the risks of billions of small, solid plastic particles polluting our environment. SEAC also concluded on the expected benefits and costs to society of the proposal.

In August 2020, the Portuguese Technical Commission CT-181 “Produtos reciclados de pneus” (Recycled Products from Tires) sent its official response to the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) with regard to ECHA’s proposed restrictions for the use of crumb rubber in synthetic turf sports fields. Earlier in 2019 and 2020, ECHA proposed an outright ban on crumb rubber use where the particle size was <5mm or a thread length was <15mm. This recommendation to the European Commission was to include a six-year adoption period from 2021.

The European Chemical Agency’s Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) is proposing an EU-wide ban on microplastics infill in sports and other play surfaces from 2028 due to ‘possible’ environmental releases. Since our tyres contain a mixture of natural rubber and synthetic polymers (TDRM), these are deemed to have been intentionally introduced into infill materials. The ECHA further claims that 16,000 tonnes of this material is ‘released’ into the environment annually and constitutes its justification for the proposed ban.

UK’s Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) issued a statement where it reacted to the recent proposal by the European Chemical Agency to ban tyre-derived crumb rubber infill in the EU. Below, we quote the full original press release by the TRA. A proposal by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) to ban the use of tyre-derived rubber infill in sports surfaces has been deemed incomprehensible and counter-intuitive by members of Britain’s Tyre Recovery Association.

According to recent news from the European Chemical Agency, (ECHA), its Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) supports restricting the use of intentionally added microplastics while recommending more stringent criteria for biodegradable polymers. The Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) agreed on its draft opinion, which will soon be available for consultation. Below, we quote the original article. The full article can be found at Cosmetic OBS or in the Tyre & Rubber Recycling magazine.

On June 9, the Tyre and Rubber Recycling magazine published an article about the European Chemical Agency recommending restrictions on crumb rubber. The Magazine highlights that it is not usually given to speculation on leaks, but this is a case where Tyre and Rubber Recycling feels a need to highlight an issue. The material below contains citations from the article by Ewan Scott. Please read the original version here.

Even though earlier media reports stated that the EU was about to introduce a legislation prohibiting the use of artificial turf on playing surfaces, The European Commission stated that the information was misleading. The authoritative body added that it was only focusing its work on health risks posed by some microplastics and looking into developing its sustainable substitutes.

A new website that seeks to raise awareness to tire-originated microplastics, road wear particles (TRWP) and their detriment to ecology and human wellbeing has been launched by The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA). The website also highlights a study by the ETRMA-launched TRWP platform that presented its conclusions earlier this June. The highlight of the study is the finding that 2-5% of particles generated on roads can reach estuaries.