In September, the German government published a new ordinance covering the legal implementation of the country’s national rules for biocides. This goes over and beyond the EU Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) and imposes a national ban on the self-service sale of several types of biocidal products, as follows:
• rodenticides (product-type 14);
• insecticides (product-type 18);
• wood preservatives (product-type 8);
• antifouling products (product-type 21); and
• construction material preservatives (product-type 10).
The national ordinance will take effect on 1 January 2025. As of this date, consumers will only be able to purchase these products from specialised and trained staff, who will be responsible for first advising them on the risks of using these products. The new rules also cover online sales.
German authorities justified their decision as a way to achieve “a conscious handling of biocidal products and prevent their often unnecessary use”.
It is unclear at this stage if other EU Member States will follow a similar approach.
