LIFE

LIFE ENVIRONMENT |
LIFE and the circular economy
in their products. This has gained in relevance in
recent years, as the REACH (Registration, Evaluation,
Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals)
regulation (EC 1907/2006) is restricting or banning
an increasing number of chemicals (“substances
of very high concern”), where suitable alternatives
have been identified. Facilitating the substitution
of chemicals of concern at the production stage is
one of the actions noted in the Circular Economy
Action Plan to help SMEs exploit business opportunities
arising from increased resource use efficiency
during the transition to a circular economy.
Maintaining or improving the quality of recycled
materials facilitates upcycling, and growth in the
reuse and recycling sectors.
LIFE READ is developing effective methods for communicating
safety information about hazardous products
Photo: LIFE12 ENV/GR/001135
In order to provide companies with information
on substituting hazardous substances with safer
alternatives, the SUBSPORT project (LIFE08
ENV/D/000027) developed an innovative ‘substitution
support’ web portal (www.subsport.eu), containing
hundreds of case studies, as well as lists
of restricted and priority substances, links to tools
that can help facilitate substitution and training
materials. It continues to be updated. More recently,
LIFE Fit for REACH (LIFE14 ENV/LV/000174)
has produced a management package to help
SMEs find alternatives to restricted substances
(see box, p. 29).
The processing of fruit generates a significant
amount of waste with little commercial value.
This has some use as animal feed, but much is
underutilised and discarded. LIFECITRUS (LIFE14
ENV/ES/000326) is demonstrating an innovative
industrial process for obtaining natural food ingredients
from citrus fruit discards. This waste can be
treated and transformed to recover hesperidin, essential
oils, sugars and a gelling agent for the food
industry. The new process, installed in the project
beneficiary’s processing plant in Murcia (Spain), is
expected to reduce waste by 80% (by mass and
volume). The project is also organising training
courses on the technology for agro-food industries
technicians, and assessing the suitability of the
process for other fruit and vegetable residues.
Chemical substitution
A significant barrier to closing material loops is the
presence of hazardous or problematic substances
that cannot be reused or recycled. A cluster of LIFE
projects has addressed this issue, by helping companies
to identify alternative chemicals for use
More effective methods for communicating safety
information about hazardous products are essential.
This is why the LIFE READ project (LIFE12
ENV/GR/001135) developed a public database to
generate Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) and workplace
instruction cards for detergents. The outcome is
improved safety information on products used in
the tourism and construction industries in Greece,
which covers the entire supply chain from manufacturers
and importers, producers and wholesale
distributors, to professional end users. The information
provided includes whether the product contains
any hazardous environmental pollutants, its
carbon footprint, and if it has any environmental
certification (e.g. EU Ecolabel).
Products of petrochemical origin, and in particular
chlorinated compounds, have been widely used in
the leather defatting process. They are preferred
mainly because of their chemical stability, low
cost and good performance. Yet, there are increasing
concerns over their high chlorine content and
low biodegradability potential. LIFE ECODEFATTING
(LIFE13 ENV/IT/000470) is replacing hazardous
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