President Barack Obama has signed the bill to officially ban ‘microbeads’ in the United States. Researchers have learned that microbeads have become detrimental to the environment, even posing a threat to aquatic life.
Newsweek reports that Obama has agreed to ban microbeads from the United States following several scientific research saying that the tiny, plastic materials possess harmful effects to the environment.
Microbeads are described as the “tiny plastic spheres used as exfoliants in face wash, toothpaste, deodorant and just about any other beauty products on the shelves,” the publication wrote.
Today’s wastewater treatment plants, according to studies, cannot handle the microbeads as they are not biodegradable materials. For years, the microbeads have been stuck in the waterways with a large volume turning up in wrong locations.
Apart from being difficult to clean up because of its tiny size, it’s also been learned that microbeads pose a threat to aquatic life. According to CNN, this danger happens when marine creatures consume the small plastic, mistaking them as food particles.
It’s still an ongoing research as to whether microbeads are affecting the health of aquatic inhabitants. Scientists are also looking into whether the chemicals are transferred to humans who consume the species later.
Natalie Bennett, a leader of the Green Party in the UK, is also taking actions to have the bill be made official in her country – The Independent UK reports.
“The US has acted, and the UK should be acting right now. The evidence is clear and unequivocal: microbeads in cosmetics products are ending up in our waters, in our sealife, and in our own bodies, with pesticides and other chemicals attached,” Bennet told the publication.
Following the harmful discovery in microbeads, leading manufacturers including Colgate-Palmolive said they would voluntarily remove the microplastic materials from their wide-range of consumer products.
Microbead ban will be officially enforced beginning July 2017 in the US.
