ECHA to Assess Waste Limits for Short- and Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins

Recycling can keep valuable materials in use, but it can also carry unwanted chemicals from older products into new ones. This is a particular concern for persistent organic pollutants (POPs): substances that remain in the environment for long periods, can accumulate in living organisms and pose risks to human health and the environment.

The EU POPs Regulation sets concentration limits that help determine how waste containing these substances must be treated. Depending on the level of contamination, waste may be suitable for recovery or may need treatment that destroys the pollutants rather than allowing them to circulate in recycled materials.

The European Commission has now asked the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to assess concentration limits for short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) in waste. ECHA will prepare a report on the impacts of introducing or reviewing these limits, together with proposed values for Annexes IV and V of the POPs Regulation.

Why chlorinated paraffins matter for waste and recycling

Chlorinated paraffins have been used in applications including plastics, rubber, adhesives, sealants, paints and metalworking fluids. Depending on the application, they can act as plasticisers, flame retardants or additives that improve processing performance.

These uses mean that chlorinated paraffins can be present in materials entering waste treatment and recycling, including products manufactured many years ago. Information about their presence may be incomplete, particularly where waste contains a mixture of materials from different sources.

The concentration limits therefore have practical consequences. They influence which waste streams can be recovered, which need specialist treatment and whether contaminated materials can remain in circulation. Any changes may affect waste operators, recyclers and businesses that use recycled materials.

How the existing waste limits work

Annex IV of the POPs Regulation sets the “low POP concentration limits”. Waste containing listed POPs above these limits must generally be treated so that the POP content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed into substances that no longer have similar harmful properties.

This can involve incineration or suitable physico-chemical treatment. The purpose is to eliminate the pollutants, rather than simply move them into another material or waste stream.

Waste below the Annex IV limits may be recovered or disposed of through other routes, provided the treatment complies with the relevant EU legislation. Being below a POP limit does not, by itself, mean that a waste stream is suitable for recycling or that the resulting material meets all applicable product requirements.

Part 2 of Annex V provides a separate, limited route for certain listed waste types. Subject to the conditions in the Regulation and the applicable concentration limits, authorities may permit disposal other than destruction or irreversible transformation where this is environmentally preferable.

These derogations concern specified disposal routes, such as hazardous-waste landfill or permanent storage in safe, deep underground hard rock formations or salt mines. They are not a general exemption allowing contaminated waste to be recycled.

What ECHA will assess

ECHA’s report will examine the risks and socio-economic impacts of introducing or updating concentration limits for SCCPs and MCCPs in waste. The assessment will support a proposal for values in Annexes IV and V.

This work falls under a new responsibility assigned to ECHA by an amendment to the POPs Regulation that has applied since 1 January 2026. The amendment gives ECHA a formal role in providing the scientific and technical assessment behind changes to POP waste limits.

ECHA’s Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) will review the report and proposed values and issue an opinion. The Commission will then use this input when considering amendments to the Regulation. ECHA’s report and the committee opinion do not themselves change the legal limits.

Consultation expected in early 2027

ECHA expects to launch an eight-week stakeholder consultation during the first quarter of 2027. Waste operators and users of recycled materials are among the groups that will be invited to provide relevant information.

For businesses, this will be an opportunity to explain how the substances occur in real waste streams and what different limits could mean in practice. Information on concentrations, testing, sorting, treatment options, costs and the availability of suitable treatment capacity may help describe the challenges faced across the supply chain.

The detailed consultation questions and submission arrangements have not yet been announced. Companies interested in contributing can use the time before the consultation to identify relevant waste streams and gather available composition and treatment data.

No new concentration limits have been adopted through this announcement

The Commission’s request starts an assessment process; it does not introduce new concentration limits or immediately change how waste must be managed. Existing requirements continue to apply while ECHA prepares its report and the subsequent regulatory process takes place.

The development is nevertheless worth following for companies handling chlorinated-paraffin-containing waste or purchasing recycled materials. Future changes could affect treatment choices, recovery opportunities and the information needed to demonstrate that materials meet the applicable requirements.

Sources: ECHA – Persistent organic pollutants in waste ; ECHA – Current activities under POPs in waste ; EUR-Lex – EU rules on persistent organic pollutants .