Today, the Council adopted its position (‘general approach’) on a regulation on preventing the loss of plastic pellets – the industrial raw materials used to make plastic products – to the environment. The general approach provides the Council presidency with a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on the final shape of the regulation.
The new rules will help to improve the handling of plastic pellets at all stages of the supply chain. This could reduce plastic losses to the environment by up to 74%.
Building on the Commission’s original proposal, the Council’s general approach strikes a balance between introducing ambitious and effective measures to minimise plastic pellet losses and avoiding unnecessary administrative burden. The text also ensures a level playing field between EU and non-EU carriers and introduces obligations for sea-going vessels transporting plastic pellets, in line with the recommendations of the International Maritime Organization.
Plastic pellet losses to the environment are the third largest source of all unintentional microplastic releases. The new rules, the first of their kind in the EU, will help companies to minimise plastic pellet losses, contributing to the fight against microplastic pollution, which knows no borders or boundaries.
Anikó Raisz, Hungarian Minister of State for Environmental Affairs and the Circular Economy
Scope of the regulation
This regulation applies to:
- economic operators handling plastic pellets in quantities above 5 tonnes in the EU
- EU and non-EU carriers transporting plastic pellets in the EU
- companies in charge of cleaning plastic pellet containers and tanks (added by the Council in its general approach)
- shippers, operators, agents and masters of sea-going vessels when leaving or calling at a port of a member state (added by the Council in its general approach)
The Council maintains the Commission’s approach in that the new rules will apply at all stages of the supply chain.
Best handling practices
When plastic pellets are unintentionally released into the environment, it is often due to a lack of awareness and poor handling practices by economic operators, carriers and sea-going vessels. Once lost to the environment, it is almost impossible to recapture plastic pellets, and they are easily scattered over large distances by wind and water streams.
In accordance with the new rules and depending on the size of the installation or transport activity, operators will have to follow best handling practices. Both EU and non-EU carriers would be obliged to prevent plastic pellet losses, as well as to clean them up should they occur.
According to the Council’s general approach, both EU and non-EU carriers will have to inform authorities about their establishment and their involvement in the transport of plastic pellets. To ensure compliance with these obligations and a level playing field, the Council has introduced an obligation for non-EU carriers to designate an authorised representative in the EU.
Maritime transport
The persistence of a plastic pellet in an aquatic environment can be measured over decades or more, since plastic pellets are not biodegradable. Moreover, maritime transport accounted for around 38% of all pellets transported in the EU in 2022.
Therefore, the Council has introduced specific obligations regarding the transport of plastic pellets by sea (in freight containers), including ensuring good quality packaging and providing cargo-related and other technical information. This is in addition to the obligations related to the transport of plastic pellets by road, rail and inland waterways, as set out in the Commission’s proposal.
To facilitate compliance with the rules on maritime transport, the Council agreed to postpone their application by one year (compared to the rest of the rules set out in the regulation). Moreover, if the International Maritime Organization adopts measures to address marine pollution by plastic pellets from ships, the regulation should be amended accordingly, upon a proposal by the Commission.
Mandatory certification and self-declaration
According to the new rules, national authorities will have to conduct environmental inspections and take other verification measures as part of a risk-based approach.
To prove their compliance with these rules, larger operators will have to obtain a compliance certificate issued by an independent third party. According to the general approach, all companies (excluding microentreprises) are covered by this obligation if they handle more than 1 000 tonnes annually. The Council has given small enterprises four years to comply with this obligation.
Companies handling less than 1 000 tonnes annually will have to issue a self-declaration of conformity.
Alternatively, the general approach allows member states to ensure compliance through established national permit systems.
Furthermore, the Council has added an obligation on authorities to provide free and public access to information regarding the handling of plastic pellets.
Next steps
The general approach agreed today formalises the Council’s negotiating position. Negotiations with the European Parliament on the final shape of the regulation are expected to start in early 2025.
Background
It is estimated that between 52 140 and 184 290 tonnes of pellets were lost to the environment in the EU in 2019. Pellet losses can occur at various stages along the value chain. So far, microplastics have not been covered by EU law in a comprehensive manner and there are no EU rules specifically on plastic pellet losses, despite their adverse impacts on the environment, the climate, the economy and potentially on human health.
In its conclusions on making the recovery circular and green (December 2020), the Council supported the Commission in restricting intentionally added microplastics as soon as possible and tackling pollution from plastic pellets.
In 2021, the Commission proposed that the EU should reduce (intentional and unintentional) microplastic releases into the environment by 30% by 2030 (in its ‘towards zero pollution for air, water and soil’ action plan). Plastic pellets rank third among the largest sources of unintentional microplastic releases, after paints and tyres.
On 16 October 2023, the Commission presented its proposal on a regulation on preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastic pollution.
Source – EU Council: Visit the meeting page
German Environment Minstry: Microplastic releases into the environment to be reduced
According to estimates by the European Commission, 50,000 to 180,000 tonnes of plastic pellets are accidentally released into the environment every year, for example during loading or unloading operations or due to leaky containers. The escaped pellets are spread throughout the environment by wind or rain, for example. This can harm human health and the environment. The EU Member States today adopted their common position (called a general approach) on the European Commission’s proposal. The aim is to prevent and reduce in future the unintentional release of plastic pellets into the environment during production, transport and processing. The draft regulation stipulates measures for economic operators involved in these stages of the supply chain.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke: “Microplastics are one of the key challenges of global plastic pollution. Once they enter the environment, they remain in rivers, seas and soils virtually forever. Far too often, microplastics make their way from farmland into our crops and ultimately into our food. We must put an end to this plastic pollution. Germany is working to achieve a binding global UN plastics agreement that is as comprehensive as possible. At the same time, we are making progress at EU level: with the Plastic Pellet Regulation, we aim to finally eliminate a key source of microplastics in the environment. It is important to me that we shape the regulation with an eye to the bigger picture: new requirements do not necessarily have to lead to more red tape for companies and more work for authorities. We need a viable, practical and reliable legal basis in the EU.”
The EU aims to reduce microplastic releases into the environment by 30 percent by 2030. This target is also set in the European Green Deal. Microplastics can enter the environment when microplastic particles are deliberately added to products or as a result of unintentional releases, for example from plastic pellets. When microplastics enter the air, water, soil and food chain, ecosystems are damaged, biodiversity is threatened and, in some cases, human health is also at risk. Plastic pellets are often unintentionally released by poor handling practices, meaning this can largely be prevented.
In October 2023, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation to reduce environmental pollution caused by the unintentional release of plastic pellets. The aim is to prevent, contain and address spills and losses of plastic pellets caused by current handling practices. Plastic pellets are the third largest source of unintentional microplastic releases into the environment. The European Commission expects the proposal to make a significant contribution to achieving the European reduction target.
The draft regulation includes the development of a standardised method for measuring plastic pellet losses and its mandatory use throughout the EU. The proposed regulation also includes binding technical, organisational and other requirements for the prevention and containment of plastic pellet losses and the immediate clean-up of any plastic pellets that have been released. The Regulation also requires medium and large companies to be certified.
The Council has made changes to the Commission’s original proposal. For example, some definitions have been modified, requirements have been added for sea-going vessels in EU ports and the Member States are allowed to ensure compliance through established national permit systems. In the upcoming trilogues, Germany is seeking to further improve the efficiency of the requirements and has made an official statement to that effect.
The general approach agreed today provides the Council with a basis for the upcoming negotiations with the European Parliament and the European Commission as part of the trilogues. An agreement between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council is expected within the next six months.
Further information
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