Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice he has received from the Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee on the existence of solid plastic particles in products other than rinse-off cosmetic and personal care products and their likelihood of entering the marine environment.

Consultation with the Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee (HSAC) is ongoing. We will continue to work with HSAC, and industry and environmental groups, to better understand what happens to microplastics entering the marine environment.