Written question asked by Bill Wiggin (Conservative) on Tuesday, 13 December 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 December 2005. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 December 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive

Question: (2) what the estimated cost impact on paper mills is of complying with the Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Directive;

Answer: I have been asked to reply.The European Commission's impact assessment estimated the cost of compliance for an average paper mill to be €7 million per year. This however was based on the Commission's original proposal and the scenario of a notification of a substance in magazine paper as an ““article””.The compromise text agreed under the UK presidency at Competitiveness Council on 13 December 2005 amended the notification requirements to only those that contain substances of high concern in quantities of over 1 tonne per year and where they are present over a concentration of 0.1 per cent. weight by weight. This will greatly reduce the burden on the paper industry and avoid having to test every batch of waste paper collected.The agreed compromise text also makes it clear that waste—as defined in Council Directive 75/4222/EEC—is exempt from the REACH regulations. This will minimise any impact on recycling and compliance with the landfill directive.

Secondary information