rec_11

(11) Single-use plastic products can be manufactured from a wide range of plastics. Plastics are usually defined as polymeric materials to which additives may have been added. However, that definition would cover certain natural polymers. Unmodified natural polymers, within the meaning of the definition of ‘not chemically modified substances’ in point 40 of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1). , should not be covered by this Directive as they occur naturally in the environment. Therefore, for the purposes of this Directive, the definition of polymer in point 5 of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 should be adapted and a separate definition should be introduced. Plastics manufactured with modified natural polymers, or plastics manufactured from bio-based, fossil or synthetic starting substances are not naturally occurring and should therefore be addressed by this Directive. The adapted definition of plastics should therefore cover polymer-based rubber items and bio-based and biodegradable plastics regardless of whether they are derived from biomass or are intended to biodegrade over time. Paints, inks and adhesives should not be addressed by this Directive and therefore these polymeric materials should not be covered by the definition.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.