UNDP/GEF ­ Danube Regional Project/ICPDR Stakeholder Seminar
Phosphates in Detergents
Bucharest, 25 January 2007

Technical Overview

Purpose of this Document
This document provides a summary of the key technical conclusions and recommendations
that arose from the Detergent Seminar. The Seminar built on work following the ICPDR's
Joint Action Plan and undertaken by the UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project that
recommended a ban on phosphates in laundry detergents. This document is intended to
guide the Danube Countries through the key conclusions and presents the
recommendations from the Seminar and the ICPDR's Task Group on Detergents. Additional
material can be found on the DRP's web site containing the presentations used at thus
Seminar.

Conclusions
The overall conclusions of the seminar were:

·
Further phosphorus input reduction is needed in the Danube River Basin and the
Western Black Sea;
·
Tertiary treatment as required by the UWWT Directive is not sufficient to address
the problem of excess P emissions (<10,000 pe and long timescale);
·
Significant and fast phosphorus reduction can be achieved by widespread adoption
of P-free detergents;
·
EU wide legislation banning P-detergents are unlikely in the short-term;
·
Voluntary agreements are unlikely to be effective and there is a clear need for a
ban through legislation;
·
66% of all laundry detergents sold in EU-25 are P-free;
·
The detergent industry has not offered any cost information on the implication on
the switch to P-free detergents.
·
There is no evidence of additional costs to consumers from a switch to P-free
detergents;

Background

Evidence of eutrophication in the Danube River Basin and Black Sea
Mismanagement of nutrients (N and P) in the Danube River Basin (DRB) has led to severe
ecological problems especially in the 1980s, among them the deterioration of groundwater
and the eutrophication of rivers, lakes and of the Western Black Sea (WBS). The WBS has
suffered chronic harmful algal blooms, permanent hypoxic situations as well as mass
mortalities of benthic and pelagic organisms including fish.

The ecological situation in the Black Sea has improved considerably in the last decade
(reduced eutrophication, disappearance of anoxic conditions, regeneration of zoo-benthos
and phytoplankton). This improvement is due to: (i) nutrient removal at wastewater
treatment plants (WWTPs), (ii) the replacement of phosphate-containing laundry
detergents in some countries and (iii) the economic crises in several DRB during the
middle 1990s with reduction of loads from industry and agri-industrial discharges..

Phosphorus loads discharged by the Danube River in 2000 are 30 - 50 % lower than in the
1980s (dissolved P even to a higher extent). The current emissions are similar to those in
the 1960s (Figure 1).

In the Western Black Sea waters off the Danube Delta the N/P ratio increased during the
early 1990s and reached its optimum value in 1997. Since then P has become the limiting
nutrient for phytoplankton growth in the Romanian Shelf Area. The influence of the
Danube discharge on the Bulgarian Shelf Area and on the Black Sea offshore waters is
smaller. In these areas N is the limiting nutrient for primary production.

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Two major developments endanger the improvements in the Western Black Sea observed,
which will lead to an increase of nutrient emissions:
·
The economic redevelopment of CEE countries in the coming years
·
The (full) implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD)
­ the problem of settle.


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Figure 1. Phosphorus loads discharge by the Danube into the Black Sea

Means of reducing P load

Wastewater collection and treatment
The current annual emissions via waste water treatment plants amount to about 24 kt P.
The implementation of the UWWTD will increase the number of people connected to sewer
systems and WWTPs. Scenario calculations were carried out to show the consequences in
respect of P discharges, considering different amounts of P-containing detergents (0.3;
1.0; 1.75, 2.5 g P per inhabitant per day) consumed.

Settlements between 2 000 and 10 000 inhabitants will emit more than 50% of the total P
emissions because only biological treatment is required. Only in the Scenario with 0.3 g
P/inh.d in detergents the emissions will be lower than in 2000. The introduction of P-free
laundry detergents in the Danube countries would reduce P input by 5 kt P/a compared to
the 1gP/inh.d Scenario and by 10.5 kt P/a. compared to the 1.75 gP/inh.d Scenario (Figure
2). In addition, the non EU countries will not be under the same pressure to comply with
the UWWTD and new sewerage and WWTWs without P removal will add to the problem.

Agriculture
Relevant P-emissions stem from the erosion of agricultural soils. P emissions via erosion
are mainly in particulate form, which are only partly available for algal growth. These
emissions provide a potential P source which can be mobilised in the case of anaerobic
conditions in the waters as a result of eutrophication.

P-free laundry detergents
The pioneering example of Switzerland has demonstrated that improved wastewater
treatment (P removal) alone during the 1970s was not adequate to control eutrophication,
nor was an additional voluntary agreement to reduce P in detergents. Consequently a ban
on phosphate in detergents was introduced in 1986, which resulted in clear improvements
in water quality1.


1 EAWAG News, 42E, July 1997

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P-emissions in different settlement categories
40000
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5000
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10.000 -
2000 - 10.000
< 2000 inh.
Total
100.000
0,3 gP/i.d
1 gP/i.d
1,75 gP/i.d
2,5 gP/i.d

Figure 2: P-discharge in different scenarios in tP/a in distinct settlements

Current usage of P / P free detergents in DRB

The current situation is summarised in Table 1. Only Germany and Austria are virtually P
free. The Czech Republic has recently introduced legislation to replace a voluntary
agreement, which had failed after an initial period of success. Slovenia has a high
proportion of P free detergents, but there are signs of a decreasing trend which should be
monitored. Together these four countries account for about a quarter (26%) of the DRB
population. Of the remaining countries, only Hungary and Serbia use significant
proportions (about 50% or more) of P free detergents and together account for another
24% of the DRB population. The other seven (see Table 1) countries use little or no
phosphate-free detergents and make up about half the DRB population; of these Romania
is the most significant in terms of DRB population (about 27% of total). Overall in the EU-
25 it has been estimated that about 66% of laundry detergents sold are P free2.

Voluntary agreements / legislation

Current EU legislation (Detergents Regulation EC/648/2004, Article 16) could provide an
opportunity to review the situation and to harmonise it across Europe by introducing a ban
or restrictions on phosphate detergents across the Community. However, the EC DG
Enterprise did not expect that there would be a quick conclusion to the current review.
Therefore, since EU legislation cannot be expected in the near future, it is important for
DRB countries to develop national legislation and to mobilise NGOs to inform the public.

It has been demonstrated that voluntary agreements without legislative back up are
unlikely to succeed in DRB countries, as clearly demonstrated in the Czech Republic, where
the initial success of a voluntary agreement between government and the industry
association was eroded due to increasing sales of phosphate detergents by non-members
of the association. Moreover, it is difficult to control imports of P detergents.
In Slovenia the sale of P free detergents was successfully encouraged through tax
incentives (lower tax on P free detergents) but since abandoning this measure in 1990, the
sale of P detergents has increased again 3.

Few DRB countries outside the EU have experience with voluntary agreements, but they
are generally following EU legislation. Therefore EU legislation to ban or reduce phosphates
in detergents would be the most effective option to deal with the problem. However, in the
absence of any EU legislation the countries of the Danube River Basin should be
encouraged to implement national bans on laundry detergents containing phosphates.

2 Sotirios Kiokias, DG ENV (seminar presentation)
3 Jaroslav Slunecko, Slovenian Industry Association KPC (seminar presentation)

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Table 1
Detergent usage, populations & phosphate-free detergents by
country
Percentage
Country
Total laundry
Total
Population in Danube
detergent that
detergent usage
population 1
River Basin (DRB) 2
is phosphate-

free
tonnes/year
million
million
% of DRB
Austria 55,197
8.1
7.7
9.4
>98%
Germany 643,000
82.0
9.1
11.1
Czech Republic

9.9
2.7
3.3
Hungary 126,300
10.3
10.3
12.6
>~50%
Slovenia

2.0
1.7
2.1

Serbia-Montenegro 3 89,057 9.3
9.1
11.1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 7,485 4.4
2.5
3.1
Bulgaria

7.9
4.4
5.4
Croatia 16,516
4.7
3.2
3.9
<10%
Moldova
4.3
1.1
1.3


Slovak Republic

5.4
5.2
6.4

Ukraine 219,873
49.1
3.1
3.8
Not known 4 Romania
154,584
22.4
21.8
26.6
Total


219.8
81.9
100
Notes:
1.
Information from Whitaker's Almanack 2005
2.
FromJoint Action Programme, 2000-2005
3.
Data for `phosphate-free' in Serbia-Montenegro may include low phosphate detergents (i.e. up to 5% phosphate)
4.
Data for products indicates `no phosphate-free detergents' on the market in 2005

Concluding Comments

Although the available cost information is inadequate, there is no evidence of higher costs
to the consumer for P free detergents, whereas cost savings can be achieved through
lower wastewater treatment costs.

Whilst it is recognised that other actions, such as improved urban waste water collection
and treatment, as well as `good agricultural practices' are necessary complementary
actions, there is scope for contributing to a successful resolution of the problem of
eutrophication, by replacing P detergents with P free detergents, thereby reducing the total
phosphate burden from detergents.

The Next Steps:
The Detergents Task Group met on the 26 January 2007 and concluded that ban on P-
containing laundry detergents was of significant benefit to the DRB and the North West
Shelf of the Black Sea. The Task Group recommended that the following steps should be
taken:

·
There is a need for Danube Countries (except AT, DE and CZ) to take positive
action in developing national legislation to ban P-detergents;
·
Romania should be encouraged to act as a pilot for this ban due to the size of the
population, the production facility available, the benefits to the Black Sea coast
and tourism, the growth of wastewater treatment, etc.

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