EU Takes Bold Action! The Strictest New Regulation to Prevent Plastic Pellet Leakage Officially Adopted

To address the growing problem of microplastic pollution, the European Parliament has formally adopted a new regulation, fully endorsing the text approved by the Council of the European Union. This regulation establishes legally binding obligations for the handling of plastic pellets throughout the supply chain and explicitly brings recycling and recovery processes under regulatory scope, with the core goal of achieving "zero plastic pellet loss."

 — 1 —Legislative Background and Urgency

Plastic pellets are the third-largest source of microplastics unintentionally released into the environment. These pellets persist in the environment, exhibit cross-border mobility, pose severe threats to ecosystems and biodiversity, and may have potential adverse effects on human health through air and the food chain. Although the EU previously had voluntary industry commitments such as Operation Clean Sweep®, their implementation effectiveness has been unsatisfactory. Meanwhile, inconsistent measures among member states may hinder the operation of the internal market. Therefore, formulating a unified mandatory EU-wide regulation has become particularly urgent. A major incident on December 8, 2023, directly contributed to the refinement of the regulation. At that time, a cargo ship lost six containers in deep water more than 80 kilometers off the coast of Galicia, Spain. As a direct response to this incident, the EU expanded the definition of "plastic pellets" in the new regulation to explicitly cover various forms such as powders, cylinders, beads, and flakes, ensuring a sufficiently broad regulatory scope. — 2 — Scope of Application and Core Definitions

Scope of application includes: - Economic operators: Entities that handled more than 5 tons of plastic pellets in the previous calendar year, including recycling producers. - Cleaning facility operators: Economic operators running facilities for cleaning plastic pellet containers and tanks. - Transporters: EU and non-EU carriers transporting plastic pellets within the EU by road, rail, or inland waterways. - Maritime transport stakeholders: Shippers, operators, agents, and masters using freight containers to transport plastic pellets, departing from or calling at ports of member states. Key definitions: - Plastic pellets: Polymer-containing materials of any shape, form, or size, including virgin and recycled sources, whether derived from biomass or designed to be biodegradable. This includes pellets, flakes, resins, cylinders, beads, powders, and other forms. - Leakage: The one-time or prolonged escape of plastic pellets from primary containers within facility boundaries or transport vehicles. - Loss: The escape of plastic pellets from facility boundaries or transport vehicles into the environment at any stage of the supply chain. — 3 — Core Obligations and Tiered Compliance Mechanism

To balance environmental goals with enterprises’ compliance burdens, the regulation establishes a tiered compliance mechanism based on enterprise size and annual handling volume: - Micro-enterprises, regardless of their handling volume, only need to submit a self-declaration of conformity. - All types of enterprises with an annual handling volume below 1,500 tons also apply the self-declaration system but must update it every five years. - For enterprises with an annual handling volume of 1,500 tons or more, the requirements are stricter: large enterprises must obtain independent third-party certification every three years, and medium-sized enterprises every four years. If small enterprises exceed this threshold, after obtaining an initial certificate valid for five years, they may subsequently choose to renew the certification or demonstrate continuous compliance by updating their risk management plan and submitting a self-declaration. This provision provides flexibility for small enterprises (including small recycling enterprises) and reduces their administrative burden. Meanwhile, the regulation requires medium and large enterprises to conduct annual internal assessments and establish training programs targeting employees’ specific responsibilities to ensure effective implementation of the regulatory requirements. EU member states must formulate effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalty rules. For the most serious violations, administrative fines can be as high as 3% of the legal entity’s EU turnover in the previous fiscal year, and criminal penalties may also be imposed. The regulation will enter into force on the 20th day after its publication. Most provisions will apply 24 months after entry into force, and maritime transport-related provisions will apply 36 months after entry into force. (Source: EUR-Lex.europa.eu)