Plastic Microbeads - WKTV Journal

Microbeads can evade filtration at water treatment plants and end up in the Great Lakes, and can be mistaken as food to marine life.

WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

The federal Microbead-Free Waters Act took effect on July 1. The new law, which was passed in 2015, prohibits the sale and manufacturing use of microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics.

Although the bill was passed in 2015, the three-year period allowed cosmetic companies to phase out the production and sale of microbeads in their products.

Research from the State University of New York in Fredonia found anywhere from 1,500 to 1.1 million microbeads per square mile in the Great Lakes.

The legislation had bi-partisan support, including Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI).

“Microbeads pose a very real danger to our Great Lakes and threaten our fish and wildlife populations,” Sen. Stabenow said in 2015, at the time of the bill passing. “This bipartisan bill is an important step in keeping our wildlife protected and our waters safe.”

Microbeads are used in body wash, facial scrubs, and shampoo to aid in exfoliation. Once microbeads are washed down drain, they may evade filtration at water treatment plants and end up in the Great Lakes, according to supplied material. These plastic particles add to the plastic pollution in the lakes and can be mistaken as food to marine life.

“This is an important step to ensure that our Great Lakes are protected for generations to come,” Sen. Peters said in supplied material at the time the ban went into effect this week. “Pollution from microbeads is a serious threat to the health of the Great Lakes, and our ban will help keep our wildlife and waterways safe from further harm.”

More information may be found on the Federal Drug Administration’s website here.

Microbeads have overstayed their welcome!

After the U.S House and Senate voted to unanimously pass the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, the bill sat on President Obama’s desk for final approval. On Monday, December 28, President Obama signed the bill into law.

The Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 is a bipartisan bill focused on eliminating microbeads and their pollution from the Great Lakes. Microbeads are tiny plastic particles used in cosmetic products that are small enough to filter through municipal wastewater treatment plants after they’re rinsed down the drain. According to the new law, a microbead is defined as “any solid plastic particle” less than 5 millimeters in size intended for use as an exfoliate. The law’s clear wording and definition of a microbead doesn’t allow for manufacturing loopholes to other plastics.

After being rinsed down the drain, microbeads often end up floating in the Great Lakes where they can soak up toxins like a sponge and then enter the food chain after being mistaken for food by fish and other wildlife.

In the Great Lakes, anywhere between 1,500 to 1.1 million microbeads can be found per square mile. Lake Erie and Lake Ontario have the highest concentrations.

Now that the bill has been signed into law, microbeads will be phased out of consumer products over the next few years. In July 2017, a ban on manufacturing microbeads will go into effect with product-specific manufacturing and sales bans coming in 2018 and 2019.

When looking for products with microbeads, some will come out and say ‘Microbeads’ right on the label. However, other times microbeads are labeled as polyethylene or polypropylene. Companies like L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble have already started phasing out microbeads for alternatives like sand and apricot seeds.