BCF Blog: Not Just Brexit...

Ellen Daniels, Head of Public Affairs and Policy

Not just Brexit…

With the political excitement of the last two weeks (Prime Minister resigning, EU elections the UK was never meant to participate in), and industry-specific work such as titanium dioxide and biocides, we’ve been extremely busy at the BCF. Given there’s a lot in the news about the UK’s interesting political developments, I thought I would go into some detail on two of the industry’s major issues for 2019.

Titanium Dioxide proposed classification

Much like the Brexit journey, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been a bit of a rollercoaster. There were 500 responses to the European Commissions’ consultation on TIO2, with the vast majority challenging the proposed classification of TiO2 as a category 2 carcinogen. 

Furthermore, a new proposal from the Commission was published, which means that the classification would only affect powder mixtures, but we still challenge it as we fundamentally believe TiO2 is safe, and a powder classification still has issues for waste and recycling, toys, and other products, and sets a precedent.

The EU Commission has confirmed that it will now push the CLP regulation through as a delegated act, impacting the procedure for the classification proposal for titanium dioxide. This means that no further discussions will take place under this regulatory procedure with scrutiny involving the likes of the REACH Committee and CARACAL. The power will now shift to the European Commission and Parliament.

This is mixed for the industry, as there will now be other areas to influence- such as directly with COM and MEPs.

Biocides

The BCF has been leading the way with biocides lobbying, by helping set up and chair the Cross-Sector Preservatives group in the UK. The group, which consists of industries such as cosmetics, aerosols, cleaning products, automotive, adhesives, as well as biocide producers, is leading on advocacy work at a national level to promote the benefits of using preservatives.

The group aims to target key stakeholders in government and talk about the positives and importance of preservation, and the essential need to have a wide choice of preservatives to ensure the protection of water-based consumer products. Our first step is to talk to consumers about their views on preservatives and build an argument to ensure we can articulate the many benefits of including preservatives in our products.

The BCF also attended a biocides workshop organised by CEPE and AISE- the European cleaning products association. Industry and authorities alike attended what was a great workshop, to make the same defence at EU level about the importance of biocides. Regardless of Brexit, it’s vital we’re aligned across the EU.

What next?

The BCF will continue to represent the industry’s interests, and where appropriate defend key non-substitutable substances- taking a collaborative approach to our lobbying. The next 6 months will be important to the industry, not just because of Brexit, but to make sure we can still use vital raw materials safely, that is essential to the performance and sustainability of member’s products.