Progress Report celebrates “significant achievements” in emissions reduction

The European Flame Retardants Association (EFRA) has reported “significant achievements” in reducing potential emissions of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) with the publication of its 10-year anniversary progress report.

The Voluntary Emissions Control Action programme (VECAP) is a product stewardship programme, which aims to reduce potential emissions of BFRs by promoting environmental best practices throughout the value chain.

“It is with great honour that I lead this programme,” said Eric Sitters, European VECAP Manager ICL-IP Europe and recently appointed VECAP Europe Leader.

“VECAP makes the industry proud, clearly demonstrating that engagement, commitment and cooperation across all levels of the value chain make for a success story.”

The 2014 report shows that potential emissions to land, water and air of the four substances covered by the programme (TBBPA, Deca-BDE, HBCD and EBP) have significantly decreased since the beginning of the programme; 2014 has also been the second year of EBP reporting, allowing for the first comparison of data.

The survey shows a high participation rate for EBP and for TBBPA with a significant 35 percent drop for potential emissions to land for EBP as well as reported TBBPA potential emissions at default levels for the fourth consecutive year. The industry’s commitment to cover responsibly the disposal of packaging waste also led to the responsible management of all TBBPA, Deca-BDE and HBCD packaging.  

In addition, EFRA product stewardship says it is working hard to ensure that EBP users apply all recommended VECAP best practices to shift the percentage of packaging waste responsibly managed from 97 to 100 percent.