Commission proposes to recast detergents legislation
The European Commission's Enterprise Directorate has issued a draft proposal to bring together five existing EU Directives on the biodegradability of surfactants in a single new regulation.1 The proposal will extend controls to cationic and amphoteric surfactants and introduce new rules on surfactant degradation and product labelling. It is not clear whether it will tighten biodegradation criteria sufficiently to prevent the sale of poorly degradable products such as alkyl phenol ethoxylates (APEs).