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posted by martyb on Thursday August 25 2016, @10:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the legislators-on-the-[micro]-ball dept.

The Environmental Audit Committee in the British parliament has called for a ban by the end of 2017 on plastic microbeads used in personal care products such as toothpaste, exfoliant and shower gel. The tiny beads are detrimental when eaten by fish. Some manufacturers had promised to end their use of the material by 2020.

The chair of the committee said:

Cosmetic companies' voluntary approach to phasing out plastic microbeads simply won't wash. We need a full legal ban, preferably at an international level as pollution does not respect borders. If this isn't possible after our vote to leave the EU, then the government should introduce a national ban. The best way to reduce this pollution is to prevent plastic being flushed into the sea in the first place.

The committee also speculated on the possibility of harm to wildlife from synthetic fibres such as those in microfleece cloth (sometimes made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate).

Sources:
The Guardian
BBC News
Press Association via Daily Mail

Previously:

Study Demonstrates Harm to Fish Caused by Microplastics
Ban on Microbeads Passes U.S. House of Representatives


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  • (Score: 2) by joshuajon on Thursday August 25 2016, @12:23PM

    by joshuajon (807) on Thursday August 25 2016, @12:23PM (#392951)
    Here's a story about the US ban [cnn.com]. When the ban passed I inadvertently bought a tube of microbead toothpaste that was on sale and I could definitely notice the difference. The beads made my gums hurt for several hours after brushing.
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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday August 25 2016, @03:48PM

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday August 25 2016, @03:48PM (#393071) Homepage
    I've never knowingly bought the microbead one, as the whole idea sounded a bit gimicky.

    I'm sure I wouldn't digest them, so if I swallowed enough of toothpaste, would I shit white turds? Like the lower-class dog poop of the 70s, but possibly spanglier.
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