The European Commission’s goal is clear: a circular Europe that conserves resources, makes the continent more resilient and, at the same time, guarantees a pollution-free environment. Yet behind this idealistic picture lies, in practice, a highly complex set of conflicting interests that poses enormous challenges for stakeholders throughout the entire value chain. At the heart of this debate lies the REACH Regulation, whose substance bans and limit values could become a bottleneck for recycling. Whilst policymakers have been struggling for years with the revision of the REACH Regulation, regulatory requirements mean that potentially valuable recyclates must be removed from the cycle due to contamination. This session analyses the fundamental conflict of goals between the desire for ‘absolute purity’ on the one hand and the technical and economic necessity of raw material recovery on the other. Our experts will examine how so-called legacy contaminants in long-lasting products can be managed and whether the current regulatory framework tends to spur innovation in the circular economy or, conversely, stifle it through legal uncertainty. Join us in discussing viable ways in which industry can successfully navigate the balancing act between consistent consumer protection and a resilient, circular economy.