DecaBDE as a barrier to the Circular Economy

At a glance:

The UK produces 1.6 million tonnes of bulky waste of which 42% is furniture and mattresses. Waste furniture is not only a socio-environmental problem with local authority landfill costs derived from furniture estimated at £15.6m, but it also represents a substantial economic loss to industry, with raw material and process wastage rates estimated to be £150m.

This project from the Furniture Industry Research Association aimed to assess whether an analysis of the impact of decaBDE being added to the UNEP POP list for the UK furniture industry is viable and what impact might there be on circular economy activities.

Highlights:

• Barriers to circular economy
• Decabromodiphenyl ether
• POPs characteristics of decaBDE
• Industrial uses of decaBDE5
• decaBDE in the United Kingdom
• Further restriction of decaBDE under REACH
• Furniture Reuse and the third sector
• REACH testing