European Commission Published the 9th Amendment to the Plastics Regulation

The European Commission published the 9th amendment to the Plastics Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 (Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/79) on January 18, 2018. This amendment updates the Plastic Regulation’s positive list by making changes to the restrictions/uses for (butadiene, styrene, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate) copolymer cross-linked with divinylbenzene or 1,3- butanediol dimethacrylate, and by adding the following four new substances:

• 2,4,4′-trifluorobenzophenone
• 2,3,3,4,4,5,5-heptafluoro-1-pentene
• tungsten oxide
• a mixture of methyl-branched and linear C14-C18 alkanamides, derived from fatty acids

Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/79 will enter into force on February 8, 2018 and includes the following exhaustion of stocks clause: “Plastic materials and articles complying with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 as applicable before the entry into force of this Regulation, may be placed on the market until 8 February 2019 and may remain on the market until exhaustion of stocks.”