In light of World Ocean Day on June 8, we’ve placed a spotlight on the minute pieces of plastic that are hiding in plain sight and harming our environment.
What are Plastic Microbeads?
Plastic Microbeads are minute pieces of plastic usually less than 5mm in size.
Where they are commonly found:
Plastic Microbeads in cosmetics products are commonly found in rinse-off exfoliators such as facial scrubs or body scrubs. These cosmetic microbeads give the products their grainy texture.
For cosmetics containing microbeads, look for the following ingredients:
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- Nylon (PA)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
Why we say no!
They may be tiny in size, but they have a damaging effect on our oceans and its wildlife. When washed down the drain after use, they are too small to be caught by any filtration system, so they end up in our rivers, lakes and oceans and become harmful to the marine environment and wildlife. Due to their structure they don’t degrade or dissolve in water, often absorbing surrounding toxins. They then can be ingested by marine life which ultimately causes health issues. The microbeads are also so small that they are also difficult to remove from the ocean.
The best thing we can do for our ocean and to fight the microbeads issue is to stop using products that contain microbeads, scrutinize your ingredient lists and make a difference.
You can also read more information on how you can help our oceans at worldoceansday.org