Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) & Upholstered Furniture

Following a recent change in legislation, the way in which Collard receive, store and process Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating containing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) will change from 01 January 2023.

These changes follow guidance from the Environment Agency on the disposal of Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) containing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The guidance states that these items will no longer be able to be recycled or accepted at landfill and must be destroyed through incineration.

The manufacture, sale and use of products containing Persistent Organic Polutants (POPs) is now banned. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are poisonous chemical substances that break down slowly and get into food chains as a result.

Many POPs were widely used during the boom in industrial production after World War II, when thousands of
synthetic chemicals were introduced into commercial use. Many were used in the manufacture of upholstered domestic seating.

Identifying waste upholstered domestic seating that contains POPs

Waste domestic seating is any item of seating of a household type from households or businesses that is waste. Upholstered furniture and domestic seating may contain POPs. Examples include:

·      sofas

·      sofa beds

·      armchairs

·      kitchen and dining room chairs

·      stools and foot stools

·      home office chairs

·      futons

·      bean bags

·      floor and sofa cushions

This includes any part made of or containing leather, synthetic leather, other fabric, or foam.

Collard Environmental does accept Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) containing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

However, we will be applying an individual item charge for these waste streams to cover the changes in costs of storage, processing and disposal as set out below: –

• POPs Sofas (large and small) £50 each + VAT
• POPs Chairs with upholstery (including beanbags and stools) – £25 each + VAT