A new policy briefing by waste advocacy group Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) argues for tougher chemical policy measures to be included in the European Commission’s upcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA) to avoid a future public health crisis.

The briefing, Building a healthy circular economy: Integrating chemicals, products and waste under the Circular Economy Act, warns that disregarding chemical policy within the CEA will have significant health and economic costs.

A policy tension has long existed between the pressure to maximise recycling rates vs the need to protect consumers from harmful chemicals. While governments set targets to boost the recycling of materials such as plastics, textiles and electronics, the fact remains that many of these items contain hazardous materials (often added decades ago, although many are still being added today). To simply recycle such items risks harmful exposures via the recycled material streams, or in new products, or via the spread of contamination in other ways.

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