1 
 Restrictions on the Manufacture, Import, and Sale of Personal Care and 
Cosmetics Products  Containing Plastic Microbeads  
 
Overview of Draft  
 
 In order to facilitate exfoliation and cleaning, enterprises have 
commonly added solid plastic microbeads to personal care and cosmetics  
products based on considerations of cost and product effectiveness. However, 
since solid plastic microbeads possess  the characteristics of small size, small 
mass, and large quantity, after they are rinsed off, they cannot be effectively 
collected, removed, or disposed of, and consequently enter water  bodies and 
the environment via the sewage  collection system . In the m arine 
environment, the microbeads readily adsor b harmful substances  and may 
accumulate within the bodies of aquatic organisms , causing harm to the 
environment and ecosystem .  
 
 In view of the fact that solid plastic microbeads do not naturally 
decompose in water  bodies  or the environment, and their small particle 
diameter makes them difficult to eliminate, various countries have gradually 
imposed controls on plastic microbeads co ntained in products , such as facial 
cleanser, body wash, and toothpaste. Because plastic microbeads constitute 
one of the additive components  in products, many countries have preferred 
to adopt restriction at the source, while regulating the microbeads at the 
product stage , which achieves the goals of effective management and 
reducing impact on various parties. For instance, the United States 
completed legis lation of the Microbead -Free Waters Act of 2015  on 
December 28, 2015, and this act prescribed the successive bans on the 
manufacture, import, and sale of cosmetics containing plastic microbeads 
starting from July 1, 2017.  
 
 In light of international manag ement trends, and in order to reduce the 
use of products containing pla stic microbeads at the consumer -end by 2 
 inducing  domestic manufacture rs to adjust their raw material composition 
and change to environmentally -friendly substitute materials, and inducing  
importers to purchase products not containing plastic microbeads,  the 
Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan has accordingly 
drafted the Restrictions on the Manufacture, Import, and Sale of  Personal 
Care and Cosmetics Product s Containing  Plastic Microbeads (Draft ) as 
authorized by Article 21 of the Waste Disposal Act ; the Restrictions  
prescribe the restriction in stages of the manufacture, import, and sale of  
personal care  and cosmetics products containing plastic microbeads , with the 
provision of a transition period  for the controlled materials ; the key points of 
the Restrictions  are as follows:  
1. Definition  of the name of the Announcement (Announced Item I) 
2. Types  of controlled  personal care and cosmetics products, and 
their scope. (Anno unced Item II ) 
3. Limitations  on the audit of product manufacture, import, and sale 
(Announced Item III) 
4. Time -limited  improvement measures imposed when noncompliant 
products are found (Announced Item IV) 
 
  3 
 Draft of the Restrictions on the Manufacture, Import, and Sale of  
Personal Care and Cosmetics Products Containing Plastic Microbeads  
 
Public Announcement   
 
Announcement  Explanation  
Subject:  
The " Restrictions on the Manufacture, 
Import, and Sale of Personal C are and 
cosmetics   Product s  Containing  
Plastic Microbeads (Draft) " with the  
provisions of Item II taking effect from 
January  1, 2020, and the remaining 
provisions taking effect from July 1, 
2018.  
 1. Name of Announcement and date of 
implementation.  
2. In view of the rights of manufacturers 
and importers who have received a 
"medicated cosmetics  permit" from the 
Ministry of Health and Welfare  prior to 
the date this Announcement takes effect,  
and in view of the time needed to adopt 
response measures in con junction with 
this Announcement,  it is accordingly 
specified that personal care and 
cosmetics products containing plastic 
microbeads may not be manufactured or 
imported beginning on July 1, 2018; this 
will provide enterprises a transition 
period of at leas t 20 months from the date 
of the pre -announcement of this Draft.  
3. In view of the time needed to  sell those 
personal care and cosmetics products 
containing plastic microbeads that have 
been manufactured and imported legally 
prior to the date this Announcemen t takes 
effect,  in reference to the approach and 
control schedule adopted by the United 
States,  it is hereby specified that the 
second stage of controls  will take effect 
from January 1, 2020 , at which time full -
scale control will be achieved by the 
prohibition of the sale of personal care 
and cosmetics products containing plastic 
microbeads.  
Basis:  
Article 2 1, Waste Disposal Act   Legal basis.  
Announced items:  
I. Terms used in this  Official  Announcement 
are defined as follows:  1. Definition of terms used in this 
Announcement.  
2. The definitions of cosmetics are in 4 
 A.“Cosmetics ” means those products termed 
cosmetics in the Statute for Control of 
Cosmetic Hygiene .  
B.“Personal care products ” means those 
products used for cleaning one's body, and 
which must be rinsed off with water after 
use. 
C.“Toothpaste ” means products generally 
used to protect the surface of people's 
teeth and surrounding tissue, specifically 
semi -solid or powder blended products 
that take the form of a paste, cream, or 
gel.  
D.“Plastic microbeads ” means  solid plastic 
particles used for exfoliation or cleaning 
of the body wherein the scope of particles 
diameter is smaller than 5 mm.  
E.“Manufacture r” means an enterprise that 
engages in the manufacture of  personal 
care and cosmetics products.  
F.“Impo rter” means  a business that engages 
in the importation of   personal care and 
cosmetics products.  
G.“Vendor” means a business that engages 
in the sale (including wholesaling, 
retailing, and presentation as gifts or 
prizes, etc.) of personal care and 
cosmet ics products . accordance with the regulations of 
Article 3 of the Statute for Control of 
Cosmetic Hygiene , which is the 
governing law concerning cosmetics in 
Taiwan,  and the types and scopes of 
cosmetics party in accordance with the 
central health competent authority's 
relevant announcements.  
3. The definition of toothpaste is in 
accordance with the regulations of  
Chinese National Standards  (CNS) 
15492.  
4. The definition  of plastic microbeads is 
adopted from the United States' 
Microbead -Free Waters Act of 2015 ; the 
materials used in those microbeads 
currently commonly seen on the market 
consist of polyethylene (PE), 
polypropylene (PP), polyethylene 
terephthalate (PET), po lymethyl 
methacrylate (PMMA), and nylon.  
 
II. Manufacturers, importers, and vendor s may 
not manufacture, import, or sell the 
following personal care and cosmetics 
products containing plastic microbeads:  
A. Cosmetics used for washing hair, 
cosmetics used for bathing, cosmetics 
used for face -washing, and soap as 
defined in relevant provisions of the 
Statute for Control of Cosmetic Hygiene .  
B. Toothpaste . 1. Types of personal care and cosmetics 
products containing plastic microbeads 
controlled pursuant to this 
Announcement and scope of controlled 
items.  
2. This Announcement specifies the types 
of cosmetics whose manufacture, import, 
and sale are restricted in accordance with 
the " List of Cosmetic S cope and Types " 
announced under authorization in Article 
3 of the Statute for Control of Cosmetic 
Hygiene , and also includes those personal 
care products to which plastic 
microbeads may be added under the 
scope of control.  
III. The competent authority may  dispatch 
personnel (carrying identification 
documents) to enter manufacturer ’s, 1. The competent authority may enter 
operating premises in order to perform 
audits and sampling inspection of the 5 
 importer ’s or vendor ’s premises to inspect 
personal care and cosmetics products 
manufacturing, importation or vending 
operations, and may request a maximum of 3 
inspection sam ples of each product of the 
same type and relevant information, and the 
manufacturer, importer or vendor may not 
refuse, seek to evade, or obstruct such 
inspection.  
 state of manufacture, import, and sale of 
personal c are and cosmetics products.  
2. With regard to sampling and testing for 
the presence of plastic microbeads in 
personal c are and cosmetics  products, 
enterprises must provide up to a limit of 
three samples for testing; of these 
samples, one shall be used to  provid e a 
basis for legal enforcement in connection 
with the current inspection, another may 
be used for re -testing, and the competent 
authority shall preserve one s ample in 
order to avoid subsequent disputes.  
IV. After the competent authority has performed 
inspection and testing of personal care and 
cosmetics  products whose manufacture, 
import, or sale is restricted, when plastic 
microbeads have been found, the com petent 
authority may require the vendor  to take 
down  the products, and order the 
manufacturer or importer to recall the 
product in question from stores , and return 
or dispose of the product (in accordance with 
the provisions of the Waste Disposal Act ), 
within a specified time limit.  
 Regulations governing improvement  within a 
limited time period if sample  testing discovers 
controlled personal  care and cosmetics  
products.