S.I. No. 102/1975 - The European Communities (Detergents) Regulations, 1975.

I, JUSTIN KEATING, Minister for Industry and Commerce, in exercise of the power conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Detergents) Regulations, 1975, and shall come into operation on the 27th day of May, 1975.

2. In these Regulations "the Council Directive" means Council Directive 73/404/EEC.*

^*OJ No. L 347/51, 17.12.1973, P. 51 (as corrected, OJ No. L 195/35, 18.7.1974).

3. These Regulations apply to products which are detergents within the meaning of Article 1 of the Council Directive.

4. A person shall not sell or offer for sale products to which these Regulations apply unless the products comply with the relevant provisions of the Council Directive.

5. A person who contravenes paragraph 4 of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200, together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine of £50 for each day on which the offence is continued, or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £1,000, together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine of £100 for each day on which the offence is continued.

6. A prosecution for an offence under these Regulations may be brought by the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 16th day of May, 1975.

JUSTIN KEATING,

Minister for Industry and Commerce.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these Regulations is to give legal effect to Council Directive 73/404/EEC.

This Directive requires Member States to prohibit the placing on the market and the use of detergents where the average level of biodegradability (i.e. ability to be broken down by bacteria) of certain essential constituents is less than 90%. It also provides that the name of the product and the name or trade name and address or trademark of the party responsible for placing the product on the market appear on the packaging in which the detergents are put up for sale to the consumer and on all documents accompanying detergents transported in bulk.