Notice is hereby given that the Secretary of State intends to introduce legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of rinse-off cosmetics and personal care products containing microbeads which may harm the marine environment. These regulations will come into force by the end of 2017, with the ban on sale beginning on 1st January 2018 and the ban on manufacture beginning on 30th Jun 2018.

The draft legislation is now available to view here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-the-use-of-microbeads-in-cosmetics-and-personal-care-products.

Any person may make representations on the legislation in writing to the Secretary of State. Any such representations should be sent by 11th October 2017 to:

Marine Litter Policy Team, Defra, 8B Millbank, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR or by email to marinelitter@defra.gsi.gov.uk.