The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has announced details about their central database, which was mandated under the European Union (EU) Waste Framework Directive (WFD). The Substances of Concern In articles, as such or in complex Products (SCIP) database is currently in development, intended to provide information about the presence of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) in an article during the waste stage of its lifecycle.
This database creates new responsibilities and requirements for suppliers of articles containing substances of concern.
Who Needs to Provide Information to the SCIP Database?
There are three groups of article suppliers that must provide information to the SCIP database when notification duties take effect on January 5, 2021:
- EU producers and assemblers.
- EU importers.
- EU distributors of articles, as well as other actors who place articles on the EU market.
These groups will be required to submit a variety of data to the SCIP once it is fully operational, including:
- Identification information.
- Name, concentration range and location of the SVHC in the article.
- Additional information that relates to the safe use of the article.
Duty holders placing articles containing SVHCs over the 0.1 percent weight by weight threshold on the EU market must also submit information to the SCIP database. At this point, most articles currently on the market do not exceed this threshold, but duty holders may also provide additional information on a voluntary basis.
With an initial user test group launch and an accompanying stakeholder workshop planned for November 2019, a prototype version of the SCIP database is planned to launch in early 2020.
SCIP Database Objectives
The ECHA has outlined three main objectives for the SCIP database:
- Decrease the generation of waste containing hazardous substances within the EU. This will, in part, be accomplished by supporting the substitution of substances of concern found in articles on the EU market.
- Make information that improves the EU’s waste treatment operations available.
- Give EU authorities the ability to monitor the use of substances of concern in articles. They will also be able to take appropriate actions over the complete lifecycle of articles, including the waste stage.
The SCIP database will support a safe, circular economy by providing waste operators with more information about hazardous substances in the waste they process, and contributing to improved reuse and recycling efforts through a “cleaned” material stream.
By providing greater transparency on the presence of hazardous substances, consumers will also be able to make more informed decisions about the products they buy.
The Assent Compliance Platform helps companies streamline the collection of supply chain data to support a variety of risk mitigation activities. To learn more about Assent’s supply chain data management solution, contact our experts.
