Isabelle Alenus

FEICA’s input to the European Commission outlines how considering adhesives an impediment to the circularity of end-of-life vehicles misses the role they play in the sustainability, performance, and safety of vehicles.

Fiber-based products, in particular paper and cardboard, play an important part in the packaging and printing industries. In addition, their bio-based origin and high recycling rates provide tangible sustainability benefits. 

Indispensable insights into the adhesives and sealants industry will be offered throughout the FEICA 2023 European Adhesive & Sealant Conference and EXPO, which is taking place in Tarragona, Spain, from September 13-15, 2023.

Considering Europe’s future-focused drive towards an increasingly circular economy, FEICA actively supports efforts to improve product efficiency and circularity to help create a more sustainable society.

The European Commission would like to extend the scope of application of the Generic Approach to Risk Management, a move that will have significant impacts on professional users of adhesives and sealants. 

A new restriction on diisocyanates adopted by the European authorities under REACH on August 4, 2020, specifies the need for training and labelling requirements for industrial or professional users of diisocyanates with a monomeric concentration greater than 0.1 % by weight.

After two postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FEICA European Adhesive and Sealant Conference & EXPO 2022 took place at the Grand Elysée Hotel in Hamburg, Germany, from September 14-16.

The European Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) could fundamentally change the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation by extending the application of the generic approach to risk management to professional uses and new hazard classes. This extension of the generic approach to cover not only consumers but also professional workers, including those in the construction sector, will have a significant impact.

At present, polymers do not have to be registered under Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).  Nevertheless, a possible change in the treatment of polymers is envisioned in Article 138(2) of REACH, which may result in polymers being included in the registration requirements.