The European Chemicals Agency’s Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) has adopted its opinion on a landmark restriction proposal, which would ban microplastics in products such as cosmetics, detergents, fertilisers and could lead to a ban of its use as soft infill on artificial turf sports pitches. It would prevent the release of 500 000 tonnes of microplastics into the environment over 20 years. Bjorn Hansen, ECHA’s Executive Director says: “We need to protect our environment from microplastic pollution, and this restriction proposal is the most comprehensive of its kind in the world. We have now concluded our scientific and technical assessment and given our recommendations on how to best address the risks. This will contribute to decision making in the European Commission and the aims of the EU’s Plastics Strategy.”