NEWS
UK extends its REACH deadlines
UK government depart- ment Defra has pushed back submission deadlines for the country’s post-Brex- it UK REACH chemicals regulation – which is intended to replace and will for many companies duplicate EU REACH – by three years. The move follows industry consultation over the time and cost required to gather the necessary data, estimated by Defra at around £2bn. The new plans push
deadlines for each tonnage category back to October 2026, 2028 and 2030. Aside from easing the challenge for busi- nesses, Defra said the delay also gives the UK government more time to develop its so-far-unde- fined Alternative Transi- tional Registration model.
EPA denies call to list PVC waste as hazard
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a “tentative denial” of a petition that waste PVC materials should be listed as hazardous waste under the country’s Resource Conservation and Recover Act (RCRA). The decision follows an
agreement the EPA entered into with the petitioner — The Center for Biological Diversity — back in May last year to consider the petition by the end of this month. It called on the EPA to “promulgate regulations governing the safe treat- ment, storage and disposal of PVC, vinyl chloride and associated dialkyl- and alkylarylesters of 1,2-ben- zenedicarboxylic acid, commonly known as phthalate plasticisers.” In its tentative denial, the EPA said: the petition did
The EPA has rejected a call to treat PVC waste as hazardous
not provide sufficient evidence to suggest listing PVC as hazardous waste would have a significant impact on phthalate exposure; had not shown that exposure to phthalates resulted from current waste management practices; had not demonstrated that tighter incineration rules under RCRA would reduce emissions; and had not established proper evi-
dence of plasticiser leaching from discarded PVC. The EPA also said the petition conflated exposure with hazard and added that the resource-intensive process of listing PVC hazardous waste would preclude it from more pressing hazard pro- grammes. It is requesting public comment on its decision. �
www.epa.gov
Polykemi starts up second Chinese plant
Sweden’s Polykemi has commenced production at its second compounding unit in China. The 9,300m2 factory at Chongqing is now producing virgin and recycled compounds on two manufacturing lines. Current production is focused on compounds based on PP, PA6, PA66, PC and PC/ABS. According to Magnus Lindahl, CEO of Polykemi Compounds Kunshan and Chongqing, total annual capacity will be up to 5,000 tonnes, depend-
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ing on the product mix. Polykemi has had a
presence at Kunshan, near to Shanghai, since 2005. The
Chongqing plant is located in central China close to many companies active in the automotive industry. “It
IMAGE: POLYKEMI COMPOUNDING WORLD | January 2023
is one of the most growing regions in the country, with major universities and centres for both manufacturing and research,” said Lindahl. The new production facility is another step in Polykemi’s strategy to manufacture close to its customers. It is currently building a plant in North Carolina, US, which will have two compounding lines and is expected to start production early this year. �
www.polykemi.com
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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