At its meeting on 26 April 2024, the German Federal Council adopted a statement on the planned EU regulation to prevent pellet losses.

According to the statement, which is to be be sent directly to the EU Commission, the German Federal Council welcomes the aim of the proposed EU regulation to reduce the release of plastic pellets into the environment and to combat environmental pollution caused by microplastics. Furthermore, in its 22-point opinion, the Federal Council asks for a clarification of the term "plastic pellets" in Article 2 of the proposed EU regulation and proposes a definition. In view of the bureaucratic burden, the Council also considers it necessary, among other things, to review the requirements for pellet transport and the additional reporting obligations envisaged in this regard. With regard to the EU Parliament's proposed volume threshold of 1,000 tonnes of plastic pellets produced per year to differentiate between small and micro-enterprises on the one hand and medium-sized and large enterprises on the other, the Federal Council requests clarification or correction and points out that the plastics processing industry was characterised by medium-sized enterprises, which were already subject to a considerable bureaucratic burden. It was therefore necessary to reduce the requirements for the planned mandatory certification for medium-sized companies. To this end, the Council proposes that the planned threshold of 1,000 tonnes of plastic granulate per calendar year be raised and that the validity period of the certificates, which is set at four years, be extended appropriately.
 
Further information: Decision of the Federal Council of 26 April 2024 (in German)
 
Sources:

• dip.bundestag.de (26.4.2024)
• Photo: © Bundesrat