Compliance & legislation
When placing a chemical substance on the market, it is up to manufacturers, importers as well as downstream users to determine the potential risks for human health and the environment. We support companies in understanding and complying with the relevant chemical, waste and recycling legislation, including REACH registrations, End-of-Waste status, and Food contact Materials.
We support our clients to:
- Advise on and complete REACH compliance documentation and related activities.
- Identify and advise on food contact, packaging regulations, and current compliance policy.
- Advise on SVHC screening and SCIP database information requirements.
- Serve as a neutral third party to protect the intellectual property of formulas when seeking compliance certifications.
- Advise and support on getting the “End of waste status” for recycled material.
- Assess exposure and alternatives to single use plastics and intentionally added microplastics.
- Support with understanding and strategic advice on waste and recycling legislation, related to packaging.
- Support in developing communication statements and claims around the environmental benefits of recycled material using data-driven insights.
Services
It is critical to comply with material use regulations to guarantee safe use of chemicals for humans and the environment
Compliance & Legislation Explained
With more than tens of thousands of chemicals already on the market and the yearly introduction of hundreds of new formulas, manufacturers, importers, or downstream users are faced with the essential task of determining potential risks for human health and the environment, as well as cataloguing, updating and sharing certain information in a registration dossier or users down the value chain.
For recyclers, it is highly important to know exactly when they deal with waste and when not. For example, they need to establish whether their ‘raw materials’ are waste within the meaning of the EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD) or possibly remain substances, mixtures, or articles within the meaning of REACH. Regulations such as REACH support hazard assessment, risk management, and provision of appropriate safety information on the chemicals available on the European market. It is critical to comply with these regulations in order to guarantee the safe use of chemicals for humans and the environment.
In addition, driven by the need to reduce the use of raw materials and reduce waste, the interest in the re-use and recycling of products has increased very fast. Additionally, the increasingly bad reputation of single-use plastics forces manufacturers to consider more recycled or bio-based alternatives.
Bioplastics show great potential for greenhouse gas emission reductions. However, not all of these alternatives will have a beneficial effect on the natural environment, and they do not necessarily guarantee food safety. As a result, in some cases, the recycled content or biodegradable properties can even be at odds with the principle of inertness and traceability requirements stipulated in EU framework regulations.
Ecomatters has a strong history in regulatory chemical safety. Ecomatters supports companies in understanding the relevant chemical, waste, and recycling legislation, including REACH registrations, and in the screening and evaluation of your food contact materials specified for its intended use. In addition, we are able to support you on legislation related to waste, recycling, bioplastics, chemical circular economy, and labelling.
