{"id":4960,"date":"2024-06-04T16:41:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T13:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/?p=4960"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:48:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:48:27","slug":"regulation-eu-2023-2055-on-microplastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/regulation-eu-2023-2055-on-microplastics\/","title":{"rendered":"Regulation (EU) 2023\/2055 on Microplastics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the 27th of September, 2023, the European Union&#8217;s Official Journal (OJEU) published Regulation (EU) 2023\/2055, introducing a group of restrictions on microplastics, under Annex XVII to the REACH regulation. This regulation marks a significant step in the EU&#8217;s commitment against microplastic pollution, aligning with the <a href=\"https:\/\/commission.europa.eu\/strategy-and-policy\/priorities-2019-2024\/european-green-deal_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">European Green Deal<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_20_420\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Circular Economy Action Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/regulation-eu-2023-2055-on-microplastics\/#Overview_of_the_Microplastics_Regulation\" >Overview of the Microplastics Regulation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/regulation-eu-2023-2055-on-microplastics\/#Impact_on_Cosmetics\" >Impact on Cosmetics<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/regulation-eu-2023-2055-on-microplastics\/#Implications_for_Toys\" >Implications for Toys<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Overview_of_the_Microplastics_Regulation\"><\/span><strong>Overview of the Microplastics Regulation<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The newly introduced regulation aims to prevent the release of synthetic polymer microparticles into the environment by <strong>restricting<\/strong> <strong>the use microplastics or reducing their concentration in mixtures to less than 0.01 %<\/strong> <strong>by weight.<\/strong> This includes a wide range of products, along with those in the cosmetics and toys industries. The regulation was implemented starting from 17 October 2023, with varying transition periods, depending on the product categories.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Impact_on_Cosmetics\"><\/span><strong>Impact on Cosmetics<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The cosmetics industry is one of the primary sectors affected by this regulation, since microplastics are commonly used in cosmetics for the purposes of exfoliation, texture enhancement and color or fragrance delivery.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Rinse-off cosmetics<\/strong>: These products will need to comply with the restriction by <strong>17 October 2027<\/strong>. This includes items like facial scrubs and body washes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Synthetic polymer microplastics for encapsulation of fragrances and leave-on products<\/strong>: Products such as lotions and creams that are not rinsed off after application must comply by <strong>17 October 2029<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lip products and make-up<\/strong>: These items have a compliance deadline of <strong>17 October 2035<\/strong>, allowing manufacturers a long period to redesign these products and exclude any microplastics.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exfoliating microbeads and plastic loose glitter<\/strong>: Prohibited from <strong>October 17, 2023<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Waxes and polishes<\/strong>: Compliance required by <strong>October 17, 2028<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4973 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/139.jpg\" alt=\"Regulation (EU) 202320551 on Microplastics\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" \/><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Implications_for_Toys\"><\/span><strong>Implications for Toys<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Toys are also affected by the regulation, with the same general principles applying: <strong>microplastics that are intentionally added to toys and can detach during normal use\/degradation are restricted<\/strong>. The regulation mandates that any such microplastics must either degrade, dissolve in water, or be contained in a way that prevents their release into the environment. Additionally, suppliers of<strong> toys containing<\/strong> <strong>microplastics must provide clear instructions on preventing their environmental release from<\/strong> <strong>October 17, 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For further details, you can refer to the official publication of Regulation (EU) 2023\/2055 in the European Union\u2019s Official Journal, which you can find <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2023.238.01.0067.01.ENG&amp;toc=OJ%3AL%3A2023%3A238%3ATOC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the 27th of September, 2023, the European Union&#8217;s Official Journal (OJEU) published Regulation (EU) 2023\/2055, introducing a group of restrictions on microplastics, under Annex XVII to the REACH regulation. This regulation marks a significant step in the EU&#8217;s commitment against microplastic pollution, aligning with the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,545,540],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-packaging-legislation-en","category-regulations-policy-en","category-28","category-545","category-540","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4960"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4979,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4960\/revisions\/4979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}