This proposal for a Regulation is a consequence of the European Commission’s Plastics Strategy, published on 16 January 2018. Developed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), it has now reached a new stage, as the Commission published its draft text on 30 August 2022. The draft text is to be discussed on 23 September by the REACH Committee under the comitology procedure, and details the measures envisaged for cosmetic products.
The definition
“Synthetic polymer microparticles” are defined as polymers that are solid and which either are contained in particles and constitute at least 1% by weight of those particles, or build a continuous surface coating on particles, where at least 1% by weight of those particles fulfil either of the following conditions:
(a) all dimensions of the particles are equal to or less than 5 mm;
(b) the length of the particles is equal to or less than 15 mm and their length to diameter ratio is greater than 3.
The following polymers are excluded from this designation:
(a) polymers that are the result of a polymerisation process that has taken place in nature, which are not chemically modified substances;
(b) polymers that are degradable;
(c) polymers that have a solubility greater than 2 g/L; (d) polymers that do not contain carbon atoms in their chemical structure.
The Commission’s proposal provides that these synthetic polymer microparticles shall not be placed on the market as substances on their own or, where the synthetic polymer microparticles are present to confer a sought-after characteristic, in mixtures in a concentration equal to or greater than 0.01% by weight.
Where the concentration of synthetic polymer …
