Under the Stockholm Convention, Parties are required to develop strategies to identify products, articles, stockpiles and wastes that contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs). But there are significant challenges for Parties to fulfil their convention obligations in relation to traceability of POPs, including to identify stockpiles, articles in use, and wastes that contain POPs. At the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2023, during the evaluation of proposed exemptions for UV-328 and Dechlorane Plus, countries discussed these challenges and asked for recommendations for “means of identification” for POPs, since it is not possible for Parties to know whether POPs may be in these materials without methods that ensure traceability.

The POPs Review Committee (POPRC) was therefore requested to “consider options for identifying persistent organic pollutants in stockpiles, products and articles in use and in wastes and issues related to the production, import and export of products and articles containing persistent organic pollutants”. The report of their work, has been submitted for consideration at the twelfth meeting of the COP in 2025, and contains several important observations regarding the identification, management, and regulation of POPs within global value chains.