Commission welcomes provisional agreement to reduce microplastic pollution

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The Commission welcomes the provisional agreement reached last night between the European Parliament and the Council on the Commission’s proposal to regulate and prevent microplastic pollution from plastic pellets, across the value chain, including during transport, notably at sea. The new Regulation will protect the environment while ensuring that European industries can continue to operate and expand sustainably.

Still to this day, many plastic pellets are lost during daily operations at handling installations or during transport ending up in the environment, including in the sea, due to inadequate handling by maritime and other operators. This was the case, for example, during recent accidents in the North-West coast of Spain and in the North Sea. The new rules are expected to reduce plastic pellet losses by up to 74%, which will help preserve ecosystems and biodiversity, reduce human health risks and improve the sector’s reputation. This in turn, will benefit economic actors, for instance in the agriculture, aquaculture and tourism sector.

To reduce administrative burden for small companies, the Commission successfully advocated to limit the certification obligations to companies handling more than 1,500 tonnes of plastic pellets per year. Below this threshold, only a self-declaration will be required. In addition, smaller companies will benefit from special assistance to help them comply with this new Regulation.

Measures to prevent microplastics pollution

Plastic pellets contaminate water and soil, including agricultural lands, and harm ecosystems and biodiversity. Once ingested, they can cause physical harm or death to marine and coastal species, such as sea turtles, seabirds, and shellfish.

Microplastics are persistent, mobile, and extremely difficult and costly to remove from nature. They are found worldwide, even in remote locations, and in the human body, raising serious concerns about the impacts of high exposure on human health.

Too often, the burden falls upon local communities. Therefore, economic operators and carriers will have to follow best handling measures to prevent, contain and clean up losses. These measures are based on industry best practices. For instance, they will have to ensure that the quality of the used packaging is good and stop using it if it is leaking or sifting. To contain spills, they will have to make use of catchment devices like spill trays, and when cleaning up is necessary, they will have to make use of vacuum cleaners with sufficient capacity.

To support smaller operators, lighter requirements will apply to micro and small enterprises, which make up a significant portion of the pellet supply chain.

Standardisation bodies will develop a harmonised methodology to help economic operators and carriers monitor their losses and address data gaps. This will increase accountability and raise awareness of the impact of different practices on the environment and human health.

Next steps

The European Parliament and the Council will now formally have to adopt the new Regulation before it can enter into force. It will then enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

Background

The need to address microplastic pollution was identified in the EU Plastics Strategy, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Zero Pollution Action Plan. The approach to achieving this target is threefold: reduce pollution from plastic products (as they degrade into microplastics); restrict the use of intentionally added microplastics in products; and reduce unintentional microplastic releases.

The rules provisionally agreed today, together with the restrictions on intentionally added microplastics adopted on 25 September 2023, are the first EU measures specifically designed to tackle microplastic pollution at source.

Together, they contribute to the target of reducing microplastics releases into the environment by 30% by 2030 established by the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

For More Information

Webpage on microplastics 

Brochure on EU action against microplastic pollution

Press release on measures to reduce microplastic pollution from plastic pellets

EU Plastics Strategy

Zero Pollution Action Plan