Latest Updates on Circular Economy and Ecodesign Regulation from the European Coatings Industry

According to the European Coating industry, two recent legislations have a bearing on the adhesives and sealants industry. The first is the EU’s proposal for a new Ecodesign Regulation. The second proposal is a regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and for end-of-life of vehicles (‘ELV regulation proposal’), By Dimitrios Soutzoukis, FEICA.

Both legislations have a bearing on the adhesives and sealants industry. FEICA, the Association of the European Adhesive & Sealant Industry, has addressed both regulations from its industry’s point of view, illustrating the importance of adhesives and sealants for a circular economy.

Adhesives in the regulation of end-of-life vehicles

In July 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and end-of-life vehicles. The proposal describes various measures to increase the circularity of vehicles, including through vehicle design and an extended producer responsibility (EPR) system. In both in the requirements on vehicle design (‘circularity strategy’) as well in the requirements on EPR (‘fee modulation’), adhesives are mentioned explicitly as detrimental to end-of-life vehicle circularity and therefore to be considered as potential impediments in the vehicle design process and in the EPR fee setting.

Adhesives and sealants’ unique properties in electronics under the EU Ecodesign Regulation

The European Union Ecodesign Directive is a legislative file which is revised regularly and has been in effect since 2008. The proposal for a new EU Ecodesign Regulation is important for the adhesives and sealants industry as it involves regulatory standards for mobile phones, tablets and laptops, where adhesives and sealants play an important role. Since they exhibit unique properties in the electronics sector, adhesives and sealants can be adapted for usability, repairability and recyclability and make an improvement in terms of process efficiency, design optimisation and durability.

The EU requirements regarding ecodesign and resource efficiency over service life for such things as smartphones, cordless phones and slate tablets, include design for reliability (scratch resistance), design for repair (removable fasteners) and requirements for recycling (compatibility and traceability).