Plastics body pushes for REACH readiness

“The Department of Trade and Industry didn’t really inform firms as to what the WEEE directive entailed, despite our attempts encouraging it to do so,” he said.

The government has nominated the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the “competent authority” responsible for implementing Reach in the UK, and the HSE has set up a helpdesk and made large amounts of information available on its website.

The BPF will hold a seminar on the implications of Reach for the plastics industry at its London offices on 23 May.

Meanwhile, household goods manufacturers have said that indiscriminate use of a proposed global harmonisation system for labelling chemicals, which is linked to Reach, could lead to “warning fatigue” for consumers.

Everything from washing-up liquid to oven cleaners will carry exactly the same hazard-warning symbol if current plans remain in place.

The use of child-resistant closures would also become widespread even on products that normally are considered relatively benign, according to Charles Laroche, Unilever’s external affairs vice president.

Laroche, also president of the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (AISE), said: “If everything is hazardous, nothing is.”

Unilever is among firms lobbying in Europe for a more flexible approach.

* The Confederation of European Paper Industries has published a guidance document outlining Reach’s implications for paper and pulp producers. From www.cepi.org

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