Microbead-Free Waters Act Passes the Assembly
Last week, the Microbead-Free Waters Act was passed in New York by the Assembly in a unanimous vote of 108-0. It is now being considered by the Senate, but the outlook is optimistic. This will prohibit the sale, manufacturing and distribution in NY of any personal cosmetic products containing the plastic particles, popular for exfoliating. This is the first ban on plastic particles in the nation, but I have a feeling California will soon follow suit.
The ban affects any personal care or beauty item– cosmetics, toothpastes, soaps, etc– containing plastic particles smaller than 5mm in size.
Many brands have said they already hope to phase out microbeads by next year. To find out which products in your country are safe to use, consult the Beat the Microbead database.
Microbeads have been polluting our Great Lakes for years, posing a threat to marine life and the food chain. Contrary to popular belief, these beads are not biodegradable, and their accumulation over the years can still cause damage in the future. Read my first post about the Microbead Free Waters Act and why it’s important here.
Will your favorite scrub affected by this new law?
Interesting. I’m assuming one would still be able to buy microbead scrubs online (like from Amazon or whatever) if the distro center was in another state? It doesn’t really affect me personally too much because I try to choose sugar scrubs whenever possible, but I’m curious to see how this all plays out.
I’m not sure. The ban will prohibit the sale in NY, but not sure how this affects websites based in other states… it might count as importing.