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"B COMMISSION DECISION
of 7 January 1998
establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to tissue-paper products
(Text with EEA relevance)
(98/94/EC)
(OJ L 19, 24.1.1998, p. 77)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Decision 2000/413/EC of 15 June 2000 L 155 63 28.6.20001998D0094 — EN — 28.06.2000 — 001.001 — 1
COMMISSION DECISION
of 7 January 1998
establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community
eco-label to tissue-paper products
(Text with EEA relevance)
(98/94/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 of 23 March 1992 on
a Community eco-label award scheme (1), and in particular Article 5 thereof,
Whereas Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 provides that the
conditions for the award of the Community eco-label shall be defined byproduct group;
Whereas Article 10(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 states that the
environmental performance of a product shall be assessed by reference to thespecific criteria for product group;
Whereas, by Decisions 94/924/EC (
2) and 94/925/EC (3), the Commission
established ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label for
toilet paper and kitchen rolls, which according to respectively Article 3
thereof, are valid until 14 November 1997;
Whereas it is appropriate to adopt a new decision establishing criteria for
these product groups, which will be valid for a further period of three years
after the expiry of the period of validity of the previous criteria;
Whereas it is approriate to revise the criteria which were established by
Decisions 94/924/EC and 94/925/EC in order to reflect the developments inthe market;
Whereas the ecological criteria for toilet paper, kitchen rolls and other
tissue-paper products shall be combined in one document;
Whereas Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 further provides that
product groups, the specific ecological criteria for each product group andtheir respective periods of validity shall be established in accordance with theprocedure laid down in Article 7 following the consultation procedure
provided for in Article 6;
Whereas in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 the
Commission has consulted the principal interest group within a consultation
forum;
Whereas the measures set out in this Decision are in accordance with the
opinion of the Committee set up pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EEC)
No 880/92,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The product group ‘tissue paper products’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘the
product group’) shall mean:
‘Sheets or rolls of tissue paper fit for use for personal hygiene, absorption
of liquids and/or cleaning of soiled surfaces. The tissue product normallyconsists of creped or embossed paper in one or several plies. Laminated
tissue products are excluded from the product group.’!B
(1) OJ L 99, 11. 4. 1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 364, 31. 12. 1994, p. 24.
(3) OJ L 364, 31. 12. 1994, p. 32.1998D0094 — EN — 28.06.2000 — 001.001 — 2
Article 2
The environmental performance of the product group as defined in
Article 1 shall be assessed by reference to the specific ecological criteria
set out in the Annex.
Article 3
The product group definition and the criteria for the product group shall
be valid from 1 January 1998 until 31 December 2001.
Article 4
For administrative purposes, the product group code number assigned by
the Commission to this product group shall be ‘004’.
Article 5
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.!B
!M1
!B1998D0094 — EN — 28.06.2000 — 001.001 — 3
ANNEX
FRAMEWORK
In order to be awarded an eco-label, tissue-paper products shall comply with the criteria
of this document, which are aimed at promoting:
— reduction of discharges of toxic or otherwise polluting substances into waters,
— reduction of environmental damage or risks from use of energy (global
warming, acidification, depletion of non-renewable resources) by reducing air
emissions,
— commitment to the need to apply good management principles in order to
safeguard forests,
— promotion of the minimisation and efficient use of waste.
The fibrous raw material for the paper production shall be pulp from vegetable fibres or
pulp made from waste paper, or mixtures thereof. All virgin fibres shall originate from
regions where sustainable management is applied.
The criteria are set at a level which promotes labelling of products made from recycled
fibres, but also allows for products based on virgin fibres produced with technologiesreflecting best environmental standards.
Environmental criteria
1. Emissions to water and air
(i) The performance concerning the parameters COD, AOX, CO
2and SO 2
shall be expressed in terms of load points, in relation to a reference value
(referred to as a ‘coefficient’ for each parameter).
Table 1
Coefficients and hurdles for the emission parameters
Coefficients, (C),
kg/ADT (1) tissueHurdles, (H),
kg/ADT (1) tissue
1. Organics to water, C1 = 15 H1 = 40
2. Chlorinated organics, C2 = 0,2 H2 = 0,5
3. Carbon dioxide, CO 2 C3 = 1 500 H3 = 3 750
4. Sulphur dioxide, as S C4 = 1,0 H4 = 2,5
(1)ADT = air dried tonne
(ii) The load points, L, are calculated as shown in equation 1. The actual
emission for each parameter should be divided by the corresponding
coefficient for this parameter.
Li = (emission of parameter i)/Ci (equation 1)
(iii) The ‘total load point sum’, P , is calculated from equation 2 by adding the
load points for each parameter.
P = L1 + L2 + L3 + L4 (equation 2)
(iv) If any of the emissions of the parameters COD, AOX, CO 2and SO 2for a
product exceed the values described as ‘hurdles’ in table 1, the productshall not qualify for the eco-label.
(v) To obtain the eco-label, the total load point sum (P) for the product
must not exceed 4 points.
2. Forest management
A declaration, charter, code of conduct or statement reflecting the commitment,
applicable to the operators in charge of managing the sources from which the
fibres originate, meant to implement principles and measures aimed at ensuring
sustainable forest management, shall be presented (
1).!B
(1) Not required in the case of 100 % recycled paper or if 100 % non-wood based
fibres are used.1998D0094 — EN — 28.06.2000 — 001.001 — 4
For forests in Europe, the principles and measures referred to above, shall
correspond to the guidelines for the sustainable management of forests asadopted in the context of the Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe,(Helsinki, 1993). Outside Europe they shall correspond to the UNCED ForestPrinciples (Rio de Janeiro, June 1992) and, where applicable, to the criteria orguidelines for sustainable forest management as adopted under the respective
international and regional initiatives (ITTO, Montreal Process, Tarapoto
Process, UNEP/FAO Dry-Zone Africa Initiative).
3. Minimisation of solid waste
All producers of pulp, paper and converted tissue products shall have a system
for the handling of waste and residual products arising from the productionplants. The system should be documented or explained in the application andinclude at least the following points:
— procedures for separating and using recyclable materials from the waste
stream,
— procedures for recovering materials for other uses, such as incineration for
raising process steam,
— procedures for the handling of hazardous (
1) waste.
4. Fitness for use
The product should be fit for use.
Consumer information
The product must bear the following information on the packaging:
This product qualifies for the Community eco-label, because
— it contributes to the reduction of water pollution, global warming, waste and
acidification,
— it promotes the safeguarding of forests.
In addition to this consumer information the manufacturer may also provide a statement
with the percentage of recycled fibres.
Technical appendix
Definitions and testing requirements
All emission parameters
The period for the measurements or mass balances must be based on the production
during 12 months. In case of a new or a re-built production plant, the measurementsmust be based on at least three subsequent months of stable running of the plant. The
measurements must be representative for the respective campaign.
If a product is made out of different pulp qualities, the emission values from the pulp
production should be calculated as weighted averages of all pulps used. The totalemissions should be calculated by adding the emissions from the pulp production to theemissions from the tissue production.
If a manufacturer of pulp or paper produces several different products at the same plant,
a physical allocation of the emissions between the products could be performed. The
allocation can thus separate production related to the eco-labelled product from other
products. Such choices of allocations should be well documented by engineering basedmeasurements and evaluations.
Measurements of water emissions should be taken on unfiltered and unsettled samples
either after treatment at the plant or after treatment by a public treatment plant. CODand AOX tests should be carried out by independent test institutes or accredited
laboratories. Laboratories of production plants could also be used if the local
authorities, responsible for permitting the operations or emissions of these plants,approve the in-house testing programme. In this case the applicant producer mayprovide the reports prepared for the authorities as long as they meet the requirements ofthis technical appendix.!
B
(1) As defined by the Regulatory Authority in the country where the processing is
carried out.1998D0094 — EN — 28.06.2000 — 001.001 — 5
Chemical oxygen demand, COD
COD shall be measured in accordance with ISO 6060 or equivalent standards.
The minimum testing frequency should be one test per month.
Absorbable organic halogens, AOX
AOX shall be measured in accordance with ISO 9562 or equivalent standards.
The minimum testing frequency should be one test per month. For shorter testing
periods than one year, the minimum number of tests performed should cover threemonths. For processes where chlorine-containing chemicals are not used, AOX may notbe tested.
Carbon dioxide, CO
2
The applicant shall provide a record of the air emissions of carbon dioxide. This record
must include all sources of non-renewable fuels at the mills during the production ofpulp and paper and the purchased electricity. CO
2-equivalents for the energy
consumption at the plants are given in table 2.
Table 2
Equivalents of CO 2from non renewable fuels
Fuel CO 2emissions Unit
Coal 95 g CO 2/MJ
Crude oil 73 g CO 2/MJ
Fuel oil 1 74 g CO 2/MJ
Fuel oil 2-5 77 g CO 2/MJ
Gasoline 69 g CO 2/MJ
Natural gas 56 g CO 2/MJ
Grid electricity (1) 400 g CO 2/kWh
(1)European average.
Sulphur
The applicant shall provide a record of sulphur emissions with the aim of specifying the
air emissions of sulphur. The record must include all sulphur emissions that occurduring the production of pulp and paper with the exception of those arising from thegeneration of grid electricity. Measurements must include recovery boilers, lime kilns,steam boilers and destruction furnaces for strong smelling gases, if available. Diffuse
emissions from undefined sources must be accounted for.
Forest management
The pulp mill shall, by a written declaration, document that the fibres used for the
production of the tissue are either recycled or based on virgin fibres deriving fromforests which are managed within the principles of the criteria presented above.
Waste management
The applicant shall provide a document describing the procedures for the handling of
wastes and residual materials from the different stages of the pulp and paper productionaccording to the requirements mentioned above.
Fitness for use
The applicant should provide evidence to demonstrate that the product is fit for use.
This evidence may include data from appropriate ISO or CEN test methods, but mayinclude in-house test procedures as well. Details of the test procedures should beprovided with the application.!
B1998D0094 — EN — 28.06.2000 — 001.001 — 6