Recital 24

(24)In line with the EU Action Plan: ‘Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil’, set out in the communication of the Commission of 12 May 2021, Union policies should be based on the principle that preventive action should be taken at source. In the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the Commission underlines that Regulations (EC) No 1907/2006 ¹⁰ and (EC) No 1272/2008 ¹¹ of the European Parliament and of the Council should be reinforced as the cornerstones for regulating chemicals in the Union and that they should be complemented by coherent approaches to assess and manage chemicals in existing sectorial law. Substances in packaging and in packaging components are therefore restricted at source and primarily addressed under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down under Title VIII of that Regulation, in order to protect human health and the environment along all stages of the life-cycle of the substance, including the waste stage. Hence, it should be recalled that Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 applies to the adoption or amendment of restrictions on substances manufactured for use or used in the production of packaging or packaging components as well as on the placing on the market of substances present in packaging or packaging components. As regards packaging that falls within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, it should be recalled that that Regulation aims to ensure a high level of protection of the consumers of packaged food. Furthermore, it is possible that substances in packaging, in packaging components or in packaging waste are also subject to restrictions laid down in other Union legal acts, such as restrictions and prohibitions established for persistent organic pollutants under Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council ¹² .