Stakeholder workshop on intentional uses of microplastic particles

Summary

The workshop was organised to supplement the information obtained from the recent call for evidence by facilitating dialogue between stakeholders on the key issues relevant to a potential restriction on the intentional uses of microplastic particles under REACH.

Fifty nine invited participants from across industry, Member States, academia, NGOs, together with ECHA staff, discussed, among other things, the appropriate definition of microplastics, the risks posed by microplastics, understanding the uses of microplastics, the technical function of microplastics in these uses, the release and exposure of microplastics in the environment from these uses, and the various socio-economic implications (to industry and society overall) of a restriction.

Date and venue

30 to 31 May 2018

European Chemicals Agency, Annankatu 18, 00120, Helsinki, FINLAND

Programme

Download the programme

Presentations

Wednesday 30 May

Plenaries

REACH restriction as a tool for risk management of chemicals – Peter Simpson (ECHA) Presentation | Recording.

Tracking microplastic contamination: from sewage sludge to the oceans - Rachel Hurley (NIVA) Presentation.

European Commission Science Advice Mechanism (SAM) activity on microplastics – Dulce Boavida (European Commission DG RTD) Presentation.

Experiences from the voluntary phase-out of microbeads in wash-off cosmetic products – John Chave (Cosmetics Europe) Presentation | Recording.

From the Plastics Strategy to microplastics - Valentina Bertato (European Commission, DG ENV) Presentation | Recording.

ECHA’s approach to a restriction on intentional uses of microplastics - Bjorn Hansen (ECHA) Recording.

Microplastics, the environment and us – Heather Leslie (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam).

Thursday 31 May

Sector-specific discussions

Cosmetics and personal care products

• Cosmetics Europe - John Chave Presentation.
• Fauna and Flora - Dilyana Mihaylova Presentation.
• International Fragrance Association Europe (IFRA Europe) - Charles Laroche and Celié Gonzales Presentation.
• Plastic soup - Jeroen Dagevos Presentation.

Agriculture

• Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) – Rachel Hurley Presentation.
• Dow DuPont - Sebastien Bonifay Presentation.
• Fertilizer Europe - Leondina Della Pietra Presentation.

Paints, inks, coating and construction

• European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists' Colours Industry (CEPE) - Jan van der Meulen Presentation.
• Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) - Mikhail Durkin Presentation.
• Xerox – Sandra Kerns Presentation.

Healthcare / (bio)medical
No presentations

Detergents, household care and maintenance products

• International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (AISE) - Roberto Scazzola Presentation.
• Plastic Soup - Madhuri Prabhakar Presentation.
• International Fragrance Association Europe (IFRA Europe) - Charles Laroche and Celié Gonzales Presentation.

Oil and gas

• The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) - Bernard Vanheule Presentation.
• European Oilfield Speciality Chemical Association (EOSCA) – Nik Robinson Presentation.

Summing up and next steps - Mark Blainey (ECHA) Presentation.

Participants

59 invited participants from industry, stakeholder organisations, research institutions, the European Commission, Member State Competent Authorities and ECHA attended the conference in person. In addition, approximately 200 remote participants followed the plenary session of the workshop through web-streaming.

Contact

For questions about the workshop, contact us.