On the night of 8 to 9 April, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the regulation to prevent losses of plastic granules. A non-binding target of zero loss of plastic pellets has been included in Article 1.
Economic operators will be responsible for adopting specific measures for packaging, loading and unloading, staff training and the necessary equipment. Losses of plastic granules must be reported and a specific pictogram must be affixed to the transport and cargo.
“Every year, the equivalent of 7,300 lorries of plastic granules are dispersed into the environment” said Poland’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Paulina Hennig-Kloska. 52,140 to 184,290 tonnes of plastic granules were dispersed in the EU environment in 2019, according to the European Commission.
The regulation includes the maritime sector, as requested by the Council of the EU and the Parliament (see EUROPE 13509/4), bearing in mind that maritime transport will account for around 38% of all pellets transported in the EU in 2022. Operators will have to ensure that plastic pellets transported by sea “are packaged in good quality, sufficiently strong and properly sealed packaging”, the EU Council said. The maritime sector will have 36 months to comply, i.e. 12 months longer than for the general application of the regulation.
The European Commission, which threatened to oppose the regulation if small businesses were included (see EUROPE 13613/19), was persuaded by the EU Council and Parliament. In return, the certification threshold has been raised from 1,000 tonnes to companies handling at least 1,500 tonnes of plastic granules per year.
However, small businesses have five years (60 months) in which to comply. But their third-party certification will be a one-off, whereas large and medium-sized companies will be subject to regular certification. A self-declaration of compliance will suffice for companies handling less than 1,500 tonnes a year.
Non-EU hauliers will also have to declare quantities handled and losses, as well as undergo training and appoint an authorised representative in the EU.
The Council of the EU has yet to formally adopt its position, followed by Parliament. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)