Arnika criticises the proposed repeal of the obligation to report data to the SCIP database, the tool tracking the presence of hazardous substances in products placed on the EU market. Its primary purpose is to provide recycling companies and waste processors with information on which substances products contain and how they should be handled at the end of their life cycle.
The SCIP database, managed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), currently contains more than 16 million notifications of products containing Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). These include carcinogens, reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors including “forever chemicals” PFAS, and brominated flame retardants. The Commission is now proposing to abolish the database entirely, with only a vague promise that its function will gradually be replaced by Digital Product Passports.
“This is an absurd decision. From the outset, the tool was designed in a rather cumbersome way, but it nevertheless represented the first step towards transparency regarding toxic substances in products on the European market. This transparency – including the obligation to communicate information about toxic substances throughout the supply chain and to consumers – is essential if companies are to be driven to manufacture safer products and gradually phase out toxic substances. A far more logical approach would be to simplify the database and improve its user-friendliness so that it provides information in a clearer and more accessible way,” says Karolína Brabcová, toxic substances expert at Arnika. “Once again, the European Commission has given in to pressure from industrial lobbyists and, instead of offering real consumer protection, is continuing the trend of letting chemical industry do as they please,” she adds.
The package of proposed changes further weakens requirements for environmental management in industrial facilities, extends deadlines for implementing environmental measures and makes it easier for industrial polluters to evade stricter inspections.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that ‘simplification’ means ‘deregulation’ and will result in systematic dismantling of environmental protection. Nearly 200,000 European citizens expressed opposition to weakening environmental laws during the public consultation – and the Commission simply ignored their voices,” Brabcová adds.
The timing of this move is particularly alarming. Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of PFAS in the blood of European politicians as well as ordinary citizens. French authorities have banned the consumption of tap water and home-grown vegetables in several municipalities due to contamination with these substances. In Italy, managers of a chemical plant have been convicted for poisoning drinking water. Despite this, the European Union is choosing the path of deregulation.
Moreover, the European Commission plans to present the Circular Economy Act in the first quarter of 2026, which should create a single market for waste and recycled materials. The lack of transparency in relation to substances of very high concern in products, however, will only further promote the circulation of toxic materials into products made of recycled materials. It will undermine the safety and quality of secondary raw materials and compromise the credibility in advancing a clean and circular economy. Public health protection will thus suffer yet another blow.
Arnika calls on the European Parliament and Member States to improve rather than withdraw requirements on chemicals transparency in consumer products. Any changes to chemicals legislation must be based on a thorough assessment of impacts on public health and the environment – an assessment that is entirely missing in the case of this legislative package.
“A truly circular economy cannot be built on the presence of toxic substances in consumer products. Without information on hazardous substances in products, safe recycling and effective protection of consumer health are impossible,” Brabcová concludes.
