ECHA has published the final opinion of RAC and SEAC about the microplastic ban proposal. Starting from this document, the European Commission will define the final text for the restriction, part of the Annex XVII of REACH Regulation.

In the proposal, polymers (within the meaning of REACH Regulation) falling under the definition of “microplastics” are banned from the market. Different segments are touched by the restriction, among which cosmetics, detergency, medical devices, fertilizers and agriculture, with typical transition periods from the entry into force of the ban.

Nowadays, the Commission has 3 months of time to finalize the amendment proposal for the annex XVII of the REACH, that will be discussed with the member States, voted and finally undergone the scrutiny of Council and European Parliament. In case of positive feedback of all these phases, the amendment will entry into force. ECHA estimates that this could happened between 2021 and 2022.

All details could be found at the following link: https://echa.europa.eu/it/registry-of-restriction-intentions/-/dislist/details/0b0236e18244cd73