   
  
G/TBT/N/GBR/29/Add.1  
 
30 July 2021  
(21-5973) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
NOTIFICATION  
Addendum  
The following communication , dated  30 July 2021 , is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of the United Kingdom . 
 
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Title: The Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018  
 
Reason for Addendum:  
[  ] Comment period changed - date:   
[  ] Notified measure adopted - date:  
[  ] Notified measure published - date:  
[X] Notified measure enters into force - date: 30 June 2018  
[X] Text of final measure available from1:  
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2018/760/contents/made  
[  ] Notified measure withdrawn or revoked - date:  
Relevant symbol if measure re -notified:   
[  ] Content or scope of notified measure changed  and text available from1:  
New deadline for comments (if applicable):   
[  ] Interpretive guidance issued and text available from1:  
[  ] Other:  
 
Description:  A microbead is a water -insoluble solid plastic particle of up to 5mm in size, too small 
to be filtered out in sewage treatment systems.  An estimated 680 tonnes of plastic microbeads have 
been used in personal care products in the UK every year, billions of which end up in the sea. The 
tiny beads accumulate because they do not biodegrade and are considered impossible to recover 
once released.  
Plastic microbeads have been added to a variety of personal care products for many years, including 
hand cleansers,  face scrubs, toothpastes, shower gels and cosmetics.   
The regulations prohibit the use of microbeads as an ingredient in the manufacture of rinse -off 
personal care products and the sale of any such products containing microbeads (regulation 3). 
Breach of this prohibition is an offence (regulation 3). Definitions of "microbead" and "rinse -off 
personal care product" are contained in regulation 2.  
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1 This information can be provided by including a website address, a pdf attachment, or other 
information on where the text of the final /modified  measure and/or interpretive guidance can be obtained.  