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 operators to come up with risk management plans to prevent future spills.

In an April 8 release, the European Council estimated that 52,000-184,000 metric tons of pellets were spilled into surrounding environments in 2019. Currently, the EU doesn't have any rules regulating plastic pellet losses at any stage in supply chains, "despite their adverse impacts on the environment, the climate, the economy and potentially human health." Plastic pellets also aren't biodegradable, and can cause long-lasting damage to aquatic environments, given that maritime transport accounted for roughly 38% of all pellets shipped in the EU in 2022. 

"Microplastics, including plastic pellets, are now found everywhere — in our oceans, seas and even in the food we eat," said Paulina Hennig-Kloska, the Polish Minister for Climate and Environment. "Each year, the equivalent of up to 7,300 truckloads of plastic pellets are lost to the environment."

If the regulation is formally adopted, large operators handling more than 1,500 metric tons of plastic pellets annually will have to obtain a certificate from an independent third party. Smaller companies handling over that same threshold will need a "one-off certification" five years after the rules come into effect, while companies under the threshold will only need to issue a "self-declaration of conformity." Carriers and operators handling pellets will also have to prepare risk management plans tackling packaging, staff training, loading and unloading. 

The rules will next need to be endorsed by the European Council and Parliament and go through a legal review, before it's published in the EU's Official Journal and then made official. After that, it will come into force two years after publication.