Microplastics are synthetic, water-insoluble polymer items smaller than 5 mm, which are of particular concern for the aquatic environment. The potential impact of microplastics on the (aquatic) environment and human health have generated concerns in Member States of the European Union and worldwide.
On spring 2018 the Commission asked ECHA to invite stakeholders to participate to the call for evidence concerning microplastics with the purpose to gather further information and assess the impacts of a possible restriction.
Current evidence suggests a potential risk to the environment and human health from microplastic particles that are intentionally added to certain consumer or professional products such as cosmetics, detergents and paint, therefore ECHA prepared a restriction dossier under the European regulation on registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals (REACH).
The dossier was published on ECHA website on 30 January 2019 and passed the conformity check in March. The public consultation is now ongoing, and the restriction dossier will be scrutinised by the risk-assessment and socio-economic analysis committees of ECHA.
The stakeholders of the main industries that could be interested by the restriction are invited to contribute to the public consultation until 20 September 2019.
ECHA has estimated that the impact of this restriction will be significant. However, the emission reduction obtained through the restriction would amount to 400.000 tonnes of microplastics and cost € 9.4 Billion over the next 20 years.
Silvia Ziliotti
Regulatory Department
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