European Parliament’s vote to block exemptions for the use of recycled PVC damages the circular economy in Europe

On the 12th of February 2020, the plenary of the European Parliament adopted a resolution objecting to the European Commission’s proposal to restrict the use of lead in PVC, more specifically on the provisions allowing continued controlled recycling in specific applications. After the vote, EuPC Managing Director Alexandre Dangis stated:

“We regret the decision of the European Parliament to vote against the proposed restriction on lead in PVC as proposed by the European Commission and the Member States. This vote disregards the fact that the restriction follows a scientific evaluation started by the European Chemicals Agency and its Committees already 5 years ago and resulted in a balanced risk management decision by the Commission and Member States.

This decision also postpones the ban on imports of articles containing lead, which was the first reason for proposing the restriction, and will furthermore create a non-level playing field for the European industry that voluntarily substituted this stabilizer.

This bad signal will again compromise the achievements of the Circular Plastics Alliance, at the minimum by creating more uncertainty for investment in recycling in Europe. The extent of the damages will now depend on the subsequent handling of the file by the European Commission.”