Progressive lawmakers in the European Parliament have criticized the European Commission’s decision to phase out the European Chemicals Agency’s Substances of Concern in Products (SCIP) database, warning that no adequate replacement is currently in place.
During an exchange with Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall on 19 January, MEPs expressed concern that dismantling SCIP could weaken protections for consumers and workers, particularly in waste and recycling. The Commission argues that SCIP has not provided sufficiently usable information and that its role will be assumed by future tools, including a common chemicals data platform and the Digital Product Passport.
However, MEPs warned of a significant timing gap. The chemicals data platform is not expected to be operational until around 2030, while the Digital Product Passport will be rolled out gradually from 2027. They stressed that no existing alternative currently provides equivalent protection, especially for workers handling waste and secondary materials.
The proposed simplification package will now be examined by the European Parliament and the Council.
HEJSupport and many other environmental and public-interest organizations express serious concern about the European Commission’s proposal to discontinue the SCIP database without a fully operational replacement in place.
SCIP is the only EU-wide, legally mandated system that provides structured information on hazardous substances in articles, supporting the right-to-know for recyclers, waste workers, consumers, and public authorities. Phasing it out before alternative systems are operational risks undermining chemical safety, circular economy objectives, and worker protection.
The Commission argues that future tools—such as the common chemicals data platform and the Digital Product Passport—will eventually replace SCIP. However, official timelines show that the chemicals data platform will not be operational until around 2030, and the Digital Product Passport will be introduced gradually from 2027. This creates a multi-year transparency gap during which no equivalent, enforceable mechanism will be in place.
Removing SCIP prematurely would:
- Weaken protections for workers in recycling and waste management, who rely on SCIP information to avoid exposure to hazardous substances
- Undermine the EU’s right-to-know and chemicals transparency commitments
- Contradict circular economy goals by depriving recyclers of essential chemical information
- Risk increasing contamination of secondary raw materials with substances of concern
Rather than dismantling the database, the Commission should focus on improving data quality, accessibility, and enforcement, while ensuring full interoperability with future digital systems.
HEJSupport, therefore, calls on the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to:
- Reject the premature phase-out of SCIP
- Maintain SCIP until an equivalent or stronger replacement is fully operational
- Guarantee legal continuity of the right-to-know for hazardous substances in products
- Ensure that the Digital Product Passport delivers, at a minimum, the same level of protection and accessibility currently provided by SCIP
Simplification must not come at the expense of health, environmental protection, and workers’ safety. Eliminating a functioning transparency tool before a proven alternative exists risks undermining EU chemicals policy at a critical moment for the circular economy and the non-toxic environment agenda.
