In December 2022, the Environment Agency introduced new rules for disposing of certain upholstered domestic furniture items. This new legislation will require local authorities to make procedural changes within recycling centres, specifically around storing and disposing of any items of domestic household seating containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

POPs are poisonous chemical substances which break down slowly and, as a result, enter food chains if not properly discarded. Any upholstered domestic seating could contain POPs – desk chairs, armchairs, dining chairs, stools, sofas, futons, bean bags, sofa cushions, and other upholstered furniture are all likely to have been produced using POPs.

POPs may also be found in some waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), such as non-household office equipment, including photocopiers and printers, printed circuit boards, cables and plastic cases from display devices.

Worldwide, many millions of items of upholstered household furniture contain POPs, and the new directive aims to prevent these dangerous chemicals from seeping into the environment.

Under the new guidance, relevant items must be sorted and stored in a way that prevents damage, the release of POPs, or contamination with other waste. Ultimately, these items cannot be landfilled, recycled or reused and must be destroyed by high-temperature incineration.

Time is of the essence. Local authorities must overhaul their procedures within a matter of months, as from August 2023, the Environment Agency will launch a formal audit campaign to monitor compliance across waste management centres and local authorities. It has already written to 1,500 organisations instructing them to review their waste management procedures.

The first task is identifying items subject to the new rules. According to the Environment Agency’s guidance, the following products are exempt from the legislation:

- Items which aren’t upholstered, including wooden chairs without a cushioned or textile back, seat or arms.

- Mattresses, curtains, blinds, beds, and deckchairs.

- Waste stemming from the manufacture of new domestic upholstered seating that does not contain POPs.

Many local authorities are likely to assume that all other upholstered household seating contains POPs, and due to the widespread use of POPs in items within the category, this is an appropriate course of action.

Alternatively, each refuse and recycling centre can carry out its own checks to confirm whether POPs are present. You can use x-ray fluorescence (XRF) to scan for bromine, indicating that POPs are likely to be present. However, you must have the right training for using XRF and you must use a suitable device; read the Environment Agency study of POPs in domestic seating waste to understand what is required; contact the Environment Agency to check if you need to make any changes to your permit and management system; and be able to show that your process works and is accurate – the Environment Agency may ask you for this evidence.

After identifying the relevant items, they must be separated from other waste, including in skips or containers, bays at household waste recycling centres (HWRC), transfer stations, or treatment sites. If any items are damaged and likely to have contaminated other waste – for example, if it has been in a skip – the whole load must be treated as POP waste. Contamination can happen when pieces of foam, cover, lining, or wadding material are released from the item.

Ultimately, under the new rules and following advice from the Environment Agency, you must incinerate domestic seating containing POPs and any other contaminated waste, as incineration guarantees the destruction of POPs and keeps food supplies safe.

A large-scale incinerator can handle single, bulky items while ensuring pollution control. It is worth noting that heat from an incinerator can be captured and redistributed to power boiler systems on site, driving down your carbon footprint and supporting net zero waste targets.

These new rules are essential for protecting food supplies across the country and safeguarding our nation’s health. With the correct procedures in place, meeting the requirements should be straightforward, cost effective, and environmentally beneficial.

Hamish Farmer is direct sales manager at waste management specialists Inciner8.