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This document summarises lessons learned from the various project activities in three sectors: electrical and electronic equipment (EEE); building and construction; and toys. It also formulates key messages addressed to different stakeholder groups and provides links to guidance and tools developed under the GEF project

Factsheet with UNEP tools to address lead in paint

Healthy Building Network's report on post-consumer carpet feedstocks calls for eliminating over 40 highly toxic chemicals in carpets that threaten public health and impede recycling. These toxics are known to cause respiratory disease, heart attacks, cancer, and asthma, and impair children's developmental health. The report outlines strategies to protect public health and the environment by improving product transparency, eliminating dangerous chemicals from carpets, and increasing carpet recycling rates. It also reveals surprising efforts in the industry to remove many of these toxic substances from carpet design.

In recent years, awareness of the negative impacts of plastic waste and pollution on our environment has heightened.   The construction sector’s use of plastic continues to grow and there is a lack of clarity on how construction plastics at the end of life are managed. There is still much to learn about plastics in construction, such as the volumes of plastic used, types of polymers, their applications and lifespans. 

This interactive PDF guide has been developed by the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products and peer-reviewed by the ASBP Plastics in Construction Group.

This site is a useful introduction to chemicals in building products. It lists the most commonly found hazardous chemicals in certain building products and the associated health risks.

HBN tested 94 commercially available paint products for the presence of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), called “forever chemicals”. Approximately 50% of ‌paints tested positive for fluorine, a marker of PFAS. Review the details of our findings and the recommended actions you can take.

This study, commissioned by DG Environment for the European Commission and produced by Wood and Ramboll.  The objective was to assess the use of PFASs and fluorine-free alternatives in textiles, upholstry, carpets, leather and apparel, including specific focus on volumes of use, technical function, and emissions.

Non-fluorine alternatives considered were hydrocarbons, silicones, dendrimers, polyurethane, nanomaterials, and alternative technologies.  The study makes recommendations for policy, including a REACH restriction on the placing on the market and use of these products that contain any PFAS, and a listing under the Stockholm Convention.  It is also recommended in the report that a restriction could be combined with voluntary industry measures and provisions in public procurement to encourage substitution of PFAS before mandatory legislation is introduced.

Phthalates are mainly used as plasticisers in plastics and can be found in everything from wall coverings and furniture to electronic devices and toys. Phthalates make up two-thirds of the plasticisers market but are proven to be hazardous for human health. This report gives an overview of what phthalates are, their use, and current legislation. It includes a three-step guide to substituting phthalates and analyses the alternatives.