Eliminating phosphates in household laundry detergents has been clearly demonstrated as one of the most effective short-term measures for reducing phosphorus pollution within the Danube River Basin.

Danube countries band together. Three countries in the Danube River Basin, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, already ban or limit the use of phosphates in laundry detergents, and the ICPDR has had a two-year dialogue with heads of delegations in key countries such as Croatia, Hungary and Romania to limit phosphates. Emerging from that dialogue, the ICPDR held a meeting in December 2007 with Danube countries and the European Commission (EC) – both the Directorate General Environment and the Directorate General Enterprise – as well as representatives of the detergent industry.

Out of that meeting it became clear that the phosphates detergent industry, represented by the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (AISE), is interested in having a uniform limit of phosphates for laundry detergents at a European level. According to the AISE’s Position Paper on the Use of Phosphate in Detergents, the organisation “is in favour of the development of a harmonised and consistent approach regulating the use of phosphates in detergents in the EU”.

AISE, representing over 900 companies in the Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products Industry, supports a phase out of phosphates in household laundry detergents while allowing use of phosphates for industrial and institutional detergents and technical cleaning products until satisfactory and sufficient alternatives can provide the performance level required for those applications.

Assessing alternatives. The EC is currently evaluating whether legislation could succeed at a European level, and is working on a pan-European risk assessment model to determine whether the elimination of phosphates is justifiable and the extent to which there may be risks associated with substitutes. The Spanish National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA) will report on the development of the risk assessment model in April 2009 and the EC’s Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) will review it.

At the same time, DG Enterprise and Industry is analysing a range of different policy options, based on socio-economic data from various stakeholders. Discussions will continue throughout the year, says Sotirios Kiokias of the Directorate General Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission. “The final conclusions of the revised INIA report and the updated opinion of SCHER as well as the outcome of the Commission‘s impact assessment will be discussed with the Member States and all other stakeholders in the meetings of the Detergents Working Group probably towards the end of 2009,” says Kiokias.

In the meantime, the EC has said that river basins or specific countries should limit phosphates in detergents, where it can be shown to be beneficial. The EC’s 2007 report to Council and the European Parliament on detergents and the use of phosphates recommended that Danube countries “proceed with national legislation and/or further voluntary agreements to replace phosphate-based detergents to protect the Danube and Black Sea from eutrophication while awaiting the outcome of the Commission’s evaluation of the need for measures at the EU level.”

A voluntary ban on phosphates. The Danube countries have expressed an interest in creating voluntary agreements, but would prefer a uniform arrangement to keep consistency between countries, some of which are EU Member States and some of which are not.

AISE opposes a voluntary ban because expected phosphate reduction levels could not be guaranteed effectively. Countries with pronounced eutrophication issues would likely still need to develop restrictive national legislation, causing market concerns for companies. “The current situation where the Detergent Industry is facing varying restrictive measures in the EU Member States could lead to a distortion in the Single Market approach, even if it is understood that this may be due to different situations and needs towards environmental protection,” reports AISE.

The future of detergents. Eliminating phosphates in household laundry detergents has been clearly demonstrated as one of the most effective short-term measures for reducing phosphorus pollution within the Danube River Basin, and the commitment of the Danube countries is to develop a timetable and a strategy for implementing a phosphate ban. Such a ban could be in place within two years, would have an immediate effect and would be complementary to the building of wastewater treatment plants that is ongoing in the region. Though a ban would not be a substitute for these necessary plants, it would ultimately reduce the costs of building and operating wastewater treatment plants in the long run – requiring investments of billions of dollars.

Dishwashing detergents also contain phosphorus, and it is clear from data obtained by the ICPDR that increasing amounts of phosphorus are coming from that particular source in countries like Germany and Austria. A long-term possibility exists to reduce and eliminate that source as well, though perhaps on a slightly longer timeframe than for laundry detergent.

Kirstie Shepherd is a freelance journalist living in Vienna and has
called the Danube River Basin home since 2000.