Consultation on potential amendments to the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation 2026

Overview

We are seeking your views on a number of proposed changes to Annex I of the assimilated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, including new additions to a list of substances that are prohibited from manufacture, use, and placing on the market in Great Britain.

This consultation focuses on legislative proposals detailed in an accompanying draft Statutory Instrument (SI). Please refer to the draft SI when responding to the consultation questions. It is available on this Citizen Space platform, within the 'Related' section at the bottom of this overview page.  

Purpose of the consultation

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on government proposals and policy options to amend the POPs Regulations in upcoming and future legislation. Most of these proposals relate to recent additions of five new POPs under the Stockholm Convention on POPs, to which the UK is a Party. 

This consultation also provides an opportunity for respondents to share evidence regarding related amendments adopted or proposed by the EU, including their potential suitability for GB and any implications for the functioning of the UK internal market, particularly where different requirements may apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

The primary focus of this consultation is to inform how these obligations should be implemented in GB, including the identification of appropriate specific use exemptions and unintentional trace contaminant (UTC) limits.

Most of the consultation refers to proposals reflected in the accompanying draft statutory instrument (SI). Beyond those proposals in the draft SI, we also provide opportunities for respondents to present evidence on potential implications of recent amendments to the EU POPs Regulation with respect to another group of POPs called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

Finally, we also provide an opportunity to comment on the Stockholm Convention POPs Review Committee (POPRC) evaluation processes, evidence generation, and engagement regarding substances that are being considered as potential new POPs.

Why your views matter

Your feedback will help shape policies to protect human health and the environment, and will help identify potential impacts of these policies, including on businesses. 

Respondents are invited to respond to any section relevant to them and are not expected to respond to all sections within the consultation. 

What happens next

A summary of the responses to this consultation will be published and placed on the government website at www.gov.uk, and may also include publication on www.gov.wales, and www.gov.scot.  

The summary will include a list of organisations that responded, but not personal names, addresses or other contact details. However, information provided in response to this consultation document, including personal information, may be subject to publication or release to other parties, or disclosure in accordance with access to information regimes, such as the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 2018. 

If you want information, including personal data that you provide to be treated as confidential, please say so clearly in writing when you send your response to the consultation (if responding via post or email) and explain why you need these details to be kept confidential. If responding via Citizen Space, you will be asked whether you would like your response to be treated as confidential or not. If we receive a request for a disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we will take full account of your explanation, but due to the law we cannot provide any assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as a confidentiality request. 

Defra is the data controller in respect of any personal data that you provide, and Defra’s Personal Information Charter, which gives details of your rights in respect of the handling of personal data, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-ruralaffairs/about/personal-informati on-charter.