a recycling plant, effectively meaning there are more than
500 recycling plants for steel in Europe. It’s just one of the
reasons why steel is a well-placed packaging material to
reach the higher recycling targets in the Circular Economy
Package; as such, there is strong potential for growth in
the aerosol sector.
Just like the aerosol format itself, steel is versatile,
easy-to-use and well-suited to a vast array of applications
from personal care to industrial use. In Europe’s largest
market, the UK, more than 608 million steel aerosol cans
were filled last year2.
As the aerosol market continues to grow, steel packaging
is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of
both consumers and the environment. Indeed, steel offers
a range of benefits to the aerosol packaging industry and
is particularly well-suited to innovative design options,
offering enhanced print quality along with the option to
use techniques such as embossing and debossing more
effectively to help brands stand out on the shelf, creating
a powerful marketing asset.
Reliability of supply not only creates cost but also
means customers can be confident they will be able to
get the material they need, when they need it.
Crucially, steel is impact-resistant, heat resistant,
puncture-resistant, solvent resistant and virtually unbreakable.
These are all important considerations for aerosol
manufacturers. Ultimately, it is steel’s sustainability that
makes it a popular packaging choice for manufacturers,
especially as consumer concern surrounding the environmental
credentials of their purchases increases.
The future for all packaging materials will be determined
by their ability to meet the sustainability targets imposed
not only in the EU’s Circular Economy Package, but
increasingly by brands and consumer expectations, also.
When it comes to recycling, steel is a high-performing
primary packaging material and despite some misconceptions
among consumers, empty aerosols can be collected
and recycled along with all other items of steel packaging.
So, while time and investment are needed to make
some materials a viable long-term packaging option, steel
is a proven, sustainable solution available today.
1APEAL recycling rate figures 2017 (EU 28 counties + Norway & Switzerland)
2https://www.bama.co.uk/filling
ECHA Update
Registration, Evaluation, Authorization & Restriction of Chemicals
(REACH), European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
CoRAP
According to ECHA, improving compliance is its priority,
and the organization proposes 74 substances for evaluation
by EU Member States under the Community Rolling Action
Plan (CoRAP) for 2020-2022. At present, 14 substances are
planned to be evaluated in 2020, while 60 substances are
listed for evaluation in 2021 and 2022.
If a company has registered any of these substances, it
should coordinate actions with its co-registrants and contact
the evaluating competent authority. Registrants of a listed
substance should start coordinating their actions and contact
the evaluating Member State authority. Downstream us-
16 Spray January 2020
ers of a listed substance should review the information they
have available and share it with the registrants. In particular,
it is important that
information on the
uses is up-to-date
and exposure scenarios
and related
exposure estimations are clearly documented within the
registrants’ chemical safety reports. For the substances
planned to be evaluated in 2020, the relevant dossier updates
should be made before March 2020.
The draft plan has been prepared together with the
Member States and includes the (non-confidential) substance
names, the Enzyme Commission (EC) and Chemical
Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers, the tentative year of
evaluation, the contact details of the proposed evaluating
Member State, and an indication of the initial area of
concern. The groups of structurally similar substances that
could potentially be evaluated together are also marked in
the draft plan.
ECHA’s Member State Committee will prepare an opinion
on its draft plan in February 2020. Based on the opinion,
ECHA will adopt and publish the CoRAP update for
2020-2022 in March of this year. From the date of publication
onwards, the Member States have one year to prepare
a draft decision requesting further information from the
respective registrants to clarify potential concerns identified
during evaluation.
The Enforcement Forum & REACH authorization
The ECHA Enforcement Forum has agreed that its next
major enforcement project, REF-9, will focus on provisions
Eight in 10 UK consumers said mixed messages over the types of metal,
plastic, glass and paper that are recyclable has left them feeling exasperated,
according to a report in thesun.co.uk. They are frustrated at inconsistencies
among local authorities that “appear to make their own rules” based
on funding decisions. A third of those surveyed said they would be willing
to pay more for packaging that can be easily recycled. The survey of 2,000
adults, commissioned by Lavazza Eco Caps, identified many of the specific
items that are a source of confusion among consumers, with many wrongly
thinking items are widely recycled when they are not. For instance, 59%
believe empty deodorant aerosols with the plastic cap are widely collected (as
opposed to without the cap). In addition, 84% believe local councils should
make efforts to recycle a wider range of household items.
related to REACH authorization meant to protect the safety
and health of workers and the environment.
Inspectors will check that substances of very high concern
that are subject to authorization are not placed on the
market without a valid authorization and, where authorized,