Abstract
Plastics have recently been increasingly recognised as significant pollutants in the environment. This is compounded by the discovery that in the environment, many plastics break down into microplastics through multiplication of chemical, physical and biological agents, which are not only more difficult to remove from the environment (in fact, it is no longer possible to remove them from the environment), but also more easily enter the bodies of animals or even humans. Although not all the impacts of microplastics on the environment and human health are currently known, some countries or international organisations have already taken steps to regulate their use (or are at least considering such regulation). Examples include legislation in the USA, Canada, some EU Member States and the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) proposal to ban certain types of microplastics intentionally added to products.
It is therefore necessary to consider the legal regulation of the management of microplastics, and consequently the management of products from which microplastics are released, as a very topical issue. Moreover, its importance will continue to grow, given the assumption that plastics and microplastics will continue to accumulate in the environment. At the same time, this topic is relatively underdeveloped, as the environmental and human health impacts of microplastics are only gradually being identified and verified. From the point of view of legal regulation of microplastics management, this topic is not elaborated at all at the given level, at least in the Czech Republic.