Les entreprises réduiront-elles la pollution des microplastiques ?

euronews (en français)

06/05/2025

Nous examinons comment de nouvelles réglementations pourraient réduire la contamination qui se produit souvent pendant le transport des granulés de plastique utilisés dans la fabrication de produits plus volumineux.

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00:00Musique

00:01Plastics are among the worst polluters to all ecosystems

00:17and microplastics are particularly concerning.

00:20They are from 5 mm down to microscopic levels

00:23and can be harmful to all life.

00:25Contamination of nature often happens during transport by land and sea

00:30of plastic pellets that are used to make larger products.

00:35At UDECODE we explain new regulation to reduce this pollution.

00:39Microplastics contaminate soil, which can harm agriculture.

00:44Spillage into waterways and the sea leads to ingestion by animals,

00:48including fish, which are then in turn eaten by humans.

00:52Pollution on beaches also negatively affects tourism.

00:56Recent shipping spills have occurred in northwest Spain, Galicia,

01:00and in the North Sea, affecting the Netherlands.

01:04Inadvertent consumption of microplastics can pose health issues,

01:08such as lower fertility and cancer, according to some scientific studies.

01:13Let's hear to what extent Europeans are aware and concerned about microplastic risks.

01:19I think the European Union could decide to use less plastic,

01:24as well as in the industry, as well as in our daily consumption,

01:27or even to try to sensitize more people in the EU countries.

01:34It's everywhere.

01:36Which, I mean, isn't brilliant,

01:38but I guess we don't really know what effects that will have long term.

01:41I believe that they will have a lot of people in the EU countries,

01:43because they will have a lot of people in the EU countries.

01:47I have heard that they can now even be able to overcome

01:50one of them in the brain, so they go through the circulation of our blood.

01:55They have even increased in the supply chain of health care.

01:58Euronews reporter Gregoire Loury has been following this dossier.

02:02So what will be the new obligations for the companies

02:05that store plastic pallets and for those that transport them?

02:09The big companies that handle above 1,500 tons a year

02:13will have to get a certification by a third independent party.

02:17The small companies that still handle above 1,500 tons a year

02:22will have lighter obligations like one-off certification

02:26in the five years after the entering into force of the regulation.

02:30And you have the small companies that handle less than 1,500 tons a year,

02:36and the micro-enterprises, they will have to issue a self-declaration of conformity.

02:41And in practice, these companies have to do what?

02:44Train the people that work there, have more technical means

02:47when there is an accidental spillage?

02:49They will have to, indeed, because contamination can occur

02:52at different stages of the process.

02:54It can be the production, it can be the processing, the distribution.

02:56So they will have, indeed, to provide all this kind of staff training,

03:01organizing to make sure that they reduce pallets losses.

03:07Some non-governmental organizations were a bit critical,

03:11saying there are too many exemptions, too much delay to enter into force.

03:16What is at stake?

03:17For instance, NGOs argue that most of SMEs

03:21are actually representing the vast majority

03:25of making up the plastic supply chain,

03:30accounting for 98% in conversion and 97% in transport and storage.

03:37The maritime sector got an additional year for the transition,

03:42and NGOs argue that actually the vast majority of European vessels

03:47are already following the international recommendations.

03:51And finally, why will non-EU companies also be included in this regulation?

03:57So, pallets are very mobile.

04:00They can be dispersed by air, water, land.

04:03It can occur at all stages of the supply chain.

04:07And the highest risks are actually in the loading and unloading.

04:11So, the EU wants to make sure to get all the companies within the regulations.

04:17Each year, the equivalent of up to 7,300 truckloads of plastic pallets

04:22are lost to the environment.

04:25The new rules are expected to reduce plastic pallet losses by up to 74%.

04:30But plastic pallets rank third among the largest sources

04:33of microplastic release after paints and tires.

04:36Textiles and detergent capsules are other significant sources of this pollution.

04:42Let's talk more about this topic with one of the shadow operators

04:46for this regulation in the European Parliament,

04:49Spanish Socialist César Luena.

04:52How can we guarantee that companies will apply these norms,

04:59especially those that do not belong to the European Union?

05:03Out of the territory of the European Union we can't guarantee anything,

05:06but those outside companies that work and operate within our territory

05:11will have to have an authoritative representative

05:14that explains how to comply with the European norms

05:17to every competent authority in the EU.

05:20So, if there is an accident or an accident,

05:25immediately we will see the company

05:26and we will have this representative authoritative representative.

05:29Why do you have three years of transport to achieve these norms

05:34instead of two, like the other companies,

05:37when the water contamination is so high?

05:39Well, because countries like, I can name them,

05:43I don't have any problem, like Chipre, like Grecia, like Malta, like Croacia,

05:49yes, they would ask for those three years because they needed more time.

05:53In other words, we have suggested that the Council,

05:54that the member countries have accepted, for example,

05:57the proposal of the Parliament on the etiquette,

06:00that they had the etiquette clearly where they detail,

06:03they describe the materials and the dangers that they can have

06:07to see if they lose those materials, if they lose the soil or the water.

06:12For 2030, the Unión has to reduce the liberation of microplastics

06:16to the environment in a 30%.

06:19Are they evaluating adequately other sources of contamination

06:23to achieve that objective?

06:26Yes, I think that yes.

06:28Everything is prevailed in the European Pacto Verde Europe,

06:31from the policies of circular economy

06:35to the policies that talk about urban areas,

06:39of water potable, of painting, textiles, etc.

06:43So, if we apply what we had planned, we will arrive and we will be able to do it.

06:48But if we doubt about it and we will be able to do it in the extreme right direction,

06:53then maybe not.

06:54The Unión Europe has prohibited the plastics of one single use

06:58and there are innovations like materials biodegradable.

07:01But do not should the Unión be more active in the promotion of alternatives to plastic

07:07for consumers?

07:08We have, on the one hand, the co-design, the work in the European Programme Horizonte Europa

07:14and a rule that was reviewed in the past mandato,

07:19on the recyclable materials and of a single use.

07:24I think that this group of three things should have a unique vision,

07:28a unique plan, and therefore, I think that we would be more effective.

07:32Violations of the new rules on storage and transport of plastic pellets

07:37could lead to fines of up 3% of the company's turnover in the EU.

07:43The governments retained the initiative to initiate criminal proceedings

07:47in case of severe contamination.

07:49But the bigger challenge remains persuading people

07:53to use fewer plastics in our daily lives.

07:56Thanks for joining us !

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