New York is first state to ban microbeads in cosmetics, personal care products
May 18, 2014
Microbeads – tiny plastic particles used for their abrasive quality in face scrubs and in some other personal care products such as soaps, deodorant, and toothpaste – are clogging waterways and damaging fish and wildlife.
While federal regulators study the problem, alarmed state governments are springing into action.
On May 8, the New York State Legislature passed a bill that would ban the use of microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products. It’s the first state in the nation to enact the legislation. The new law also bans the manufacture of the microbeads.
California, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota also are proposing bans.
After the bill passed the Assembly, Schneiderman called for the passage of the bill in the Senate. He was joined by Congressman Brian Higgins; Assemblymembers Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Mickey Kearns, and Sean Ryan; Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz; Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown; Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster; Sherri Mason of SUNY Fredonia, Ph.D.; and Executive Director of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper Jill Jedlicka.
Local government officials are facing the everyday problems caused by the microbeads.
“Lake Erie is one of Western New York’s greatest resources for tourism, recreation, and for healthy drinking water,” said Brown.“We need to make sure that microbeads, produced for use in personal care products, don’t further pollute our waters, causing harm to our families and the environment.”
Dyster said once The Great Lakes -St. Lawrence Cities Initiative became aware of the significant new pollution threat from microbeads recently uncovered in the Great Lakes, it took a strong stance that the flow of microbeads into waters must stop.
A report prepared by Schneiderman’s Environmental Protection Bureau concludes that microbeads are harmful to waterways, wildlife, health, and the environment.
The report, “Unseen Threat: How Microbeads Harm New York Waters, Wildlife, Health, and Environment,” summarizes research findings on microbeads.
Microbeads, indestructible spheres that are multicolored, buoyant, and usually much smaller than 5 millimeters, are designed to be flushed down the drain.
Scientists estimate that 19 tons of microbeads accumulate in New York’s waterways annually, and they remain there for decades.
In 2012, researchers found higher levels of microbeads in the Great Lakes, most notably in the New York waters of Lake Erie, than other areas, including ocean areas that were studied.
The report points out toxic chemical pollutants, such as pesticides and PCBs, gravitate to microbeads and collect on their surfaces. When microbeads are consumed by fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, they damage their systems and allow pollutants to enter the food chain.
Unlike plastic rings from soft drink six-packs and plastic bags, the damage caused to wildlife can’t be seen.
Three leading beauty product manufacturers – Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, and Colgate-Palmolive – have recently committed to phase out the use of microbeads in their products, Schneiderman’s office said. Other companies, such as Burt’s Bees, have never used these plastics in their products.
Consumers can determine if their beauty or personal care products contain microbeads by checking the product ingredient list for “polyethylene” or “polypropylene.”
The report concludes that the most effective way to address the microbead problem is to ban them in consumer products. Wastewater treatment plants would require costly upgrades to remove them from wastewater, and cleanup is impossible once they enter waterways.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of microbeads in cosmetics years ago, but they haven’t been widely used by manufacturers until recently. Now more than 100 products use microbeads, and one container can contain more than 300,000 microbeads.
Microbeads have replaces abrasives formerly used such as salt and walnut shells.
Comments