Mr Roberto Ciambetti, President of the Veneto Regional Council, is leading the CoR's work on preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastic pollution. In a first exploratory debate in the ENVE Commission, Mr Ciambetti introduced the topic by way of acknowledging that micro-plastics have "invaded every part of our plant impacting our economies, and well-being of animals". He called for a "need to understand the situation in order to minimise the negative impact on the competitiveness of EU pellet producers".

Plastic pellets are the raw material used for producing all plastics. During manufacturing or other processes in the supply chain (e.g. transport), a fraction of those pellets can be spilled or lost to the environment. Once in the environment, these small particles of plastics do not biodegrade and cannot be removed. They accumulate in animals, including fish and shellfish, and are consequently also consumed by humans in food. 

Mr Ciambetti notes that the European Commission proposal contains minimum requirements for all operators, and additional requirements that are applicable to medium and large businesses dealing with more than 1,000 tonnes of plastic pellets per year, but added: " What we need is a clear proportionate framework that takes into account existing systems and does not excessively burden our SMEs. This all requires foresight, not emergency measures".

For the Veneto Regional Council President, the way forward is in the form of preventive measures through innovation and firm support for the manufacturing sector, who will be "hard hit by rules".

Mr Ciambetti also drew attention to the huge problem of non-EU countries who have lower environmental standards and thereby "subject our industries and businesses to unfair competition".

Due to the short legislative timeline, the opinion will go straight to adoption at the CoR April plenary session.