CLP Implementation for Cement Bags

CLP Implementation for cement bags

Call for an exemption

Summary of the issue

Due to new regulatory requirements that will become mandatory for mixtures, such as cement, on 1 June 2015 (Article 61(1) of Regulation 1272/2008 - the ‘CLP Regulation’), the current hazard pictogram consisting of only 2 mandatory colours (an orange background and black hazard symbol) will have to be replaced by a new hazard pictogram system requiring 3 mandatory colours (consisting of a ‘black symbol’ on a ‘white background’ with a ‘red frame’).

However, implementation of the new white background requirement poses considerable challenges for cement producers and suppliers of printed brown kraft paper bags. Large investments would be required in order to upgrade cement bag production lines because of the increased number of colours needed. The resulting increase in the cost of cement bags would be exorbitant, particularly given the current economic crisis affecting the EU.

No viable alternatives to printing the hazard pictograms on brown kraft paper bags currently exist. None of the investigated alternatives are feasible for the cement industry from both a practical and a cost perspective.

Given the severe financial and practical implications of the mandatory ‘white background’ requirement for the European cement industry combined with the absence of viable alternatives, the sector kindly requests that an appropriate exemption from the ‘white background’ requirement be introduced for brown kraft paper bags under the CLP Regulation.

Background

CEMBUREAU members have traditionally packaged and marketed their cement in 25kg to 50kg paper bags made out of so-called ‘Kraft’ paper. In its traditional brown form, used to pack approx. 90% of the cement packed in paper sacks, Kraft paper is non-bleached. The fibre used for kraft paper is sourced from sustainably managed forests, which are a natural and important carbon sink. Fibre-based packaging can thus be considered as a cornerstone of the bio-based economy. Paper sacks are a very efficient packaging solution (typically less than 100 g of paper sacks can protect 25 kg of cement) and have a low fossil carbon footprint.

Due to new regulatory requirements of the CLP Regulation that will become mandatory for mixtures, such as cement, on 1 June 2015, the current label consisting of only 2 mandatory colours (an orange background and black symbol hazard pictograms) will have to be replaced by a new hazard pictogram system, based on the UN GHS[1] , requiring 3 mandatory colours (consisting of a ‘black symbol’ on a ‘white background’ with a ‘red frame’, see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Current (left) and new (right) hazard pictograms for cement

The vast majority of cement bags are currently printed "in line", allowing for the printing of a maximum of 4 colours to print all mandatory labelling elements, as well as company logo and product information. The incorporation of additional colours means that the bags cannot be printed in-line any more, thus requiring an additional production process (pre-printing) on a new machine. Whilst the new mandatory ‘white background’ is easier to implement for the few manufacturers who, for various marketing reasons, traditionally use white packaging for their products, or whose company logo incorporates the appropriate colours, it poses considerable challenges for all the other cement producers and suppliers of printed Brown Kraft paper bags.

Call for regulatory action

Article 29(1) through to (5) in conjunction with Section 1.5. Annex I of the CLP Regulation contains a series of exemptions from the labelling requirements of the CLP Regulation for particular types of containers, substances / mixtures, or packaging that is difficult to label with all the required information in all languages because of its size or its form. However, none of these current exemptions allow for a deviation from the requirement for a ‘white background’.

Nevertheless, the current exemptions demonstrate that the European legislator recognised, when drafting the CLP Regulation, that there are specific situations in practice that require an adaptation of the standard regulatory regime. It is in this spirit that Article 29(5) also contains a general mandate for additional new derogations: “The Commission may request the Agency to prepare and submit to it further draft exemptions from labelling and packaging requirements.”

Given the severe financial and practical implications of the mandatory ‘white background’ requirement for the European cement industry, the sector requests that an appropriate exemption from the ‘white background’ requirement be introduced for brown kraft paper under the CLP Regulation.

Justification

The overall purpose of the new hazard pictograms is to ensure that the label is clearly distinguished from other labels on the product/packaging, and that its importance is easily and quickly perceived and recognised.

However, we would like to refer to a study by the Italian Competent Authority regarding the recognition of hazard pictograms, referenced in an ECHA Study on the Communication of Information to the General Public conducted pursuant to Article 34 of the CLP Regulation[2]. This Italian study states that whilst an individual’s visual memory does not retain the background or frame of the sign, they do remember the sign itself (in this case, the exclamation mark contained within the hazard pictogram)[3].

Therefore, CEMBUREAU and EUROSAC are of the opinion that the white background is only part of the overall means to enhance the visibility of the hazard pictogram on a product’s packaging, together with the other elements, i.e. hazard symbol and red frame, and the dimension of the label (minimum dimension related to capacity of the package). Thus, it is not the only element.

Furthermore, as shown in the printing sample enclosed in Annex 1 (Figure 2), the white colour printed directly on the brown bag (left part of the picture) is not “bright white”, at least not as white as a white patch which is glued to the brown bag (right part of the picture). So the visual impact of a printed white background would be limited compared to a brown kraft paper background.

CEMBUREAU and EUROSAC also note that under the current GHS[4], an exemption is granted to competent authorities on the use of black frames around the hazard pictogram as an alternative to red frames. This applies to packaged goods that are not exported. It is left to the competent authorities’ discretion whether or not to apply this exemption. The EU CLP Regulation does not provide for this exemption even though other countries, such as, Australia[5] and Singapore[6] have.

Given the above precedence, it should be feasible to grant an exemption to the competent authorities for packaging that is not naturally white and the printing of which would cause increased cost.

GHS implementation in other parts of the world

Europe is clearly ahead of the rest of the world in terms of implementation of the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). An enquiry with several cement industry associations from around the world revealed the following information.

·  Australia: After 31 December 2016, at the end of a 5 year transition period, all workplace chemicals (substances and mixtures) must be classified according to the GHS and labels and SDS must be updated. In Australia, cement is packaged in white instead of brown kraft paper bags, but safety instructions are currently printed in only one colour.

·  Central and South America: At least in Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico there is no obligation to put hazard pictograms on the cement bags. In Chile a voluntary hazard pictogram is printed on cement bags consisting of a blue symbol in a blue frame with the brown kraft paper as background.

·  Japan: GHS is implemented under the “Act on Confirmation, etc. of Release Amounts of Specific Chemical Substances in the Environment and Promotion of Improvements to the Management Thereof”. It will be implemented for cement in 2014. The white background is not particularly required.

·  US: GHS is implemented through the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard. The compliance deadline is 1 June 2015. The cement industry has not yet analysed the labelling requirements.

To our view, the above plays in favour of obtaining at least a temporary exemption from the white background requirement awaiting a change of the legislation at UN level or equivalent implementation in other regions.

Cost impact

For the calculations (details: see Annex 2), it is estimated that a volume of approximately 2 billion sacks per year for cement and other building materials in Europe is sold in brown kraft paper sacks (approximately 90 % of cement volumes and 15 % of other building material volumes packed in paper sacks are packed in brown paper sacks).

Current scenario:

Printing the new hazard pictograms with all three colours on brown bags (scenario without an exemption) would result in an estimated additional cost of about €36 million per year for the whole of Europe. These investment needs would not be feasible, particularly given the current economic crisis affecting the EU.

Alternatives considered:

·  Using white kraft paper bags: Would result in an additional cost of about €14 million per year for the whole of Europe. Currently infeasible due to a shortage of supply of white kraft paper on the market.

·  Using a white bottom patch: Would result in an additional cost of about €1.4 million per year for the whole of Europe. Furthermore, this would severely impact bag design and branding.

Putting white stickers on the bags is practically infeasible due to slowing of the production process and dust issues.

It is important to note that the production of bagged cement and therefore also the cost impact is unevenly distributed across Europe. In some countries, the percentage of bagged cement (as opposed to bulk cement) may be as high as 70 %.

As none of the investigated alternatives are feasible from both a practical and from a cost perspective, the sector kindly requests that an appropriate exemption from the ‘white background’ requirement be introduced for the cement industry under the CLP Regulation.

Proposed wording of exemption

CEMBUREAU and EUROSAC would propose the following wording for a possible exemption under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation), to be added under Article 29: Exemptions from labelling and packaging requirements or, alternatively, under Annex II, Part 3: Special Rules on Packaging, under the title “3.3. Provisions relating to traditional brown kraft paper”.

“Where the packaging of a substance or a mixture is made from traditional brown kraft paper it is sufficient for hazard pictograms, as laid down in Annex V, to have a black symbol with a red frame on the brown kraft paper (instead of the white background).”

About CEMBUREAU

CEMBUREAU, the European Cement Association based in Brussels, is the representative organisation of the cement industry in Europe. Currently, its Full Members are the national cement industry associations and cement companies of the European Union (with the exception of Cyprus, Malta and Slovakia) plus Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Croatia and Serbia are Associate Members of CEMBUREAU.

About EUROSAC

EUROSAC, the European Federation for Multiwall Paper Sack Manufacturers, represents about 80% of the paper sack manufacturers in Europe, including manufacturers in Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. Companies from outside Europe can join as Corresponding Members (members in Australia, Chile, Japan, Morocco and South Africa) and suppliers to the industry like paper, ink, glue or machine manufacturers can join as Associate Members.

CEMBUREAU EUROSAC

Rue d’Arlon 55 23, rue d’Aumale

BE – 1040 Brussels F – 75009 Paris

Tel.: +32 2 234 10 11 Tel.: +33 1 47 23 75 58

Fax: +32 2 230 47 20 Fax: +33 1 47 23 67 52

E-mail: E-mail:

Website: www.cembureau.eu Website: www.eurosac.org

Annex I

Figure 1: Printed examples of the CLP pictograms on cement bags with and without the white background

Figure 2: White color printed on cement bag (left) vs white patch glued on cement bag (right)

Annex 2

Current scenario: Printing of the three colour CLP hazard pictograms on brown kraft paper bags

The affected volume is currently printed “in line” in a vast majority. If a new colour (white) has to be added, this cannot be done with in-line-printers. Therefore, an additional production process (pre-printing) will become necessary. The cost per pre-printing machine is approximately € 2 million. Considering that a pre-printer can print an annual volume of around 70 million bags, about 28 new machines would be necessary for the whole of Europe, representing a total investment of € 56 million. To this we have to add the cost of additional stereos and the cost for the extra colour.

Per 1000 paper bags, the price increase would be approximately € 18 (around 14 % of the bag’s selling price).

For a total of 2 billion brown kraft paper bags this would represent a price increase of € 36 million per year for the whole of Europe. These investment needs would not be feasible, particularly given the current economic crisis affecting the EU.

Alternatives considered

Please note that we have considered two alternatives, namely printing the CLP hazard pictograms on white kraft paper bags (alternative 1) and printing the CLP hazard pictograms on a white bottom patch (alternative 2).

Putting white stickers containing the hazard pictograms on the bags is not an option. If stickers were to be applied during sack manufacturing, this would make the production process slower and at the same time instable, while representing an extra cost of around € 8 per 1000 bags. Placing stickers on the bags at the cement plant is not feasible mainly due to dust issues.

·  Alternative 1: printing the CLP hazard pictograms on white kraft paper bags

Per 1000 paper sacks, the price increase would be of approximately € 7 (around 5 % of the bag’s selling price).