UK Government Plans Revised POPs Restrictions For December 2026

UK POPs Restrictions Move To Confirmed Policy Intention

The UK POPs restrictions planned for Great Britain have moved beyond consultation. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs government response confirms that it intends to prohibit medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs), long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs), UV-328, Dechlorane Plus and chlorpyrifos by adding them to Annex I of the assimilated Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation. The government also intends to lower existing limits for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

This is not yet a change in law. The government expects to lay a statutory instrument in October 2026 and bring it into force in December, subject to parliamentary approval and the consent of Scottish and Welsh ministers. Northern Ireland remains under the European Union POPs Regulation through the Windsor Framework.

Transitional Limits Refine The Consultation Position

For MCCPs, the government retains unintentional trace contaminant limits of 3% by weight in substances or mixtures and 0.45% in articles. It now intends a temporary 2% limit for articles made using recycled material for two years, after which 0.45% would apply. Convention-level exemptions and expiry dates would be used, with no additional national exemptions.

For LC-PFCA-related compounds, the proposed general limit is reduced from 1 mg/kg to 0.26 mg/kg. A 15 ppm transitional limit would apply for four years to C15-C21 LC-PFCAs in polytetrafluoroethylene micropowders and fluoropolymers. A further limit of 10 mg/kg would cover the sum of C9-C21 PFCAs, salts and related compounds in substances used as transported isolated intermediates.

UV-328 would move through limits of 100 mg/kg until 3 August 2027, 10 mg/kg from 4 August 2027 and 1 mg/kg from 4 August 2029. Dechlorane Plus would have a 1,000 mg/kg limit until 15 April 2028, then 1 mg/kg. The government also intends to reduce the general PBDE limit from 500 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg, with separate transitions for recovered materials and children's products. Food-contact materials would not benefit from those PBDE trace limits.

What Applies Now And How Businesses Should Prepare

Current Annex I controls remain binding until the statutory instrument takes effect. The response does not itself prohibit products or create a new enforcement deadline. It does, however, replace the consultation draft as the best evidence of the government's intended final design.

Manufacturers and importers should map the five new substances and PBDEs across formulations, components and recycled inputs, identify affected Convention exemptions and obtain concentration evidence from suppliers. Recyclers and article producers should separate the two-year MCCP transition from the stricter permanent limit. Businesses trading across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the European Union should maintain jurisdiction-specific specifications.

Build a substance-by-material matrix against the intended limits now, but validate all compliance dates and legal wording against the final statutory instrument when it is laid.