What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of household recycling systems on the correct disposal of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances?
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of very long lived chemicals. Most members of the PFAS family are not currently subject to restrictions on their use and recycling when present in household products. However, some members of the PFAS family are toxic and can cause harm if released into the environment. Currently only two members of this family of chemicals are listed in the Stockholm Convention as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). They are PFOS and PFOA.
Wastes containing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are controlled under retained EU Regulation on POPS. The POPs legislation regulates and restricts all POPs listed under the Stockholm Convention and requires waste containing POPs to be treated in such a way that the POPs content of the waste is destroyed (or irreversibly transformed).
We are working with UK Government who have a coordinated programme of work to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, to identify sources and potential risks, and to inform future policy and regulatory approaches. The Health & Safety Executive is currently carrying out a regulatory management options analysis to inform further regulation of PFAS in Great Britain.