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Posted on 29/09/2022 in Fire Safety Recycling 2022
Laurent Tribut, Schneider Electric (pinfa member)

Laurent Tribut, Schneider Electric (pinfa member) explained that ensuring 50% “green materials” in its products by 2025 is a core element of the company’s sustainability objectives, including both climate and resources, and covering both Schneider Electric and its suppliers. Nearly all materials used need flame retardants to ensure fire safety. This has led to an internal definition of a “green plastic” as either 20% recycled/bio-based and halogen-free, or using only “green FRs”, or 50% recycled/bio-based if halogenated. “Green FRs” are defined by the company as non-halogenated and GreenScreen 3 or 4, in order to avoid possibly becoming a regulatory obstacle to future recycling. This is more demanding than the TCO list (22 PIN FRs, see pinfa Newsletter n°136) and limits so far to the PIN FRs: APP, MDH, Depal (phosphinate) and specific phosphites. Schneider Electric considers that ecodesign and sustainable chemicals requires the development of a recognised global assessment method for FRs (current existence of several systems causes confusion), more precise downstream communication on FRs (ISO 1043-4 is too general, see pinfa Newsletter n° 129), development of processes to recover and recycling FRs in pyrolysis or solvent chemical recycling, and a move towards using only one FR without synergists (to facilitate recycling).

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