Under the rules, large companies, defined as handling more than 1,500 metric tons of pellets a year, will need to obtain a third-party certificate to prove they are complying.

The European Commission estimates that between 52,000 and 184,000 tons of plastic pellets are released into the environment in the EU’s 27 member countries each year, and an estimated 50 ...

This press release was updated on 23 July 2025 to add the agreed text Today, the Council and the European Parliament provisionally agreed on a regulation on preventing the loss of plastic pellets – ...

Today, the Council adopted its position ('general approach') on a regulation on preventing the loss of plastic pellets – the industrial raw materials used to make plastic products – to the environment ...

A coalition of leading European environmental groups has cautiously welcomed a “landmark” agreement by lawmakers in Brussels on new rules aimed at curbing a major source of microplastic pollution in ...

Pellet loss prevention is essential for reducing microplastics in the environment. Plastics Europe supports a mandatory risk management approach tailored to diverse pellet handling operations ...

The European Union has provisionally agreed to new regulations designed to limit pollution in seas from plastic pellets, laying out a framework to deal with cleanup efforts, and requiring maritime ...

Across Europe, an estimated 41,000 tons of plastic pellets are lost to the environment each year. To put this into perspective, this amount is equivalent to more than 11 billion plastic bottles.

Plastic pellet pollution is not just a problem for wealthy nations; it is already affecting communities worldwide. In Mombasa and other coastal towns in Kenya, local fishermen have reported tiny ...