Background
In 2018, the EU revised the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) to enable better recycling and disposal of waste. The aim was also to ensure that products containing Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) were safely recycled or disposed of at the end of the product’s life cycle.
The revision tasked the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to establish a European database of articles or products (SCIP database) that contained these SVHC at concentrations greater than 0.1% weight by weight (w/w). On January 5, 2021, the New SCIP Database came into force. Companies that supply articles containing SVHCs on the Candidate List in a concentration above 0.1% in the EU market will be required to submit information on these articles to ECHA from January onwards.
The New SCIP Database will provide waste operators with more information on the hazardous substances in the waste they process, making sorting easier and improving the quality of recycled materials due to greater visibility over the chemicals they contain.
The Chemical Industry is reacting and SVHCs are being replaced with safer alternatives in many applications like plastics, leather, textiles, prints, coating, apparel, footwear and accessories.
What information needs to be submitted to the SCIP database?
Information that allows the article to be identified:
- the name, concentration range, and location of the SVHC in the article; and
- other information about the safe use of the article, particularly if the above information is not sufficient to ensure the proper management of the article as waste.
Who needs to submit notifications to the SCIP database?
Companies supplying articles containing substances of very high concern (SVHC) on the Candidate List in a concentration above 0.1 % weight by weight, including:
- EU producers and assemblers
- EU importers and
- EU distributors of articles and other actors who place articles on the market.
Retailers and other supply chain actors supplying articles directly to consumers are not obliged to submit information to ECHA.
How can Actikem help?
Whilst the UK are no longer part of the EU, many of our products are used in articles that are sold in the EU, and therefore the EU regulations apply in the whole chemical supply chain.
Actikem have been evaluating our supply chain and the products they supply and advising customers about the SVHC’s in the products supplied by us.
We can provide a statement on the products we supply to you which will help you evaluate whether you need to notify the SCIP Database.
Actikem can also help customers who are looking for alternative safer products.
As an increasingly sustainable business, many of the products we supply do not contain SVHC at levels that present a recycling issue.
Below are links to the ECHA web site that explains more about the WFD and the SCIP Database, and a link to the SVHC Candidate List: