Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement

Shower gel plastic beads may face ban

The UK government says it will consider a unilateral ban on plastic microbeads in shower gels and facial scrubs if the EU doesn’t prohibit their use.

Several nations, including the US, have already banned microbeads in cosmetics because of their impact on marine life.

The beads are used in products to exfoliate the skin – but they are swelling plastic debris in the ocean.

Scientists say a ban on the tiny beads wouldn’t solve plastic pollution, but it is an easy place to start.

Environment minister Rory Stewart told the Commons on Thursday: ‘If we cannot get a common position out of the European Union, we are open to the possibility of the UK acting unilaterally.’

The move was welcomed by Greenpeace, which has campaigned against plastic pollution.

‘This is reflective of the opinion of hundreds of thousands of people across the country,’ said the organisation’s oceans campaigner Louise Edge. ‘But any legislation would need to go further than that brought in by the Obama administration in the US, which only covers certain types of microbeads.’

The problem is that microbeads are so tiny they slip through water treatment works and enter the ocean, where they are ingested by fish and other creatures.

Small contribution

The beads get stuck in creatures’ stomachs and can be toxic in large quantities.

The government had previously asked firms to phase them out on a voluntary basis. That process is already underway at Unilever, and L’Oreal says it will follow by next year.

MPs on the environmental audit committee are due to start hearings on microplastics on Monday.

Richard Thompson from Plymouth University told the committee in written evidence that 504 fish tested from the English Channel had plastic in their digestive tract – although the average was less than two pieces of microplastic.

He said some seabirds have been shown to ingest larger quantities, and microplastics have been found to harm worms that are at the bottom of the food chain.

Erik Sebille from Imperial College London said microbeads make up a very low proportion of plastics in use, so they probably make just a small contribution to the total plastic waste in the ocean.

That means banning microbeads would have a relatively small impact on the problem. But Dr Sebille said: ‘A ban is about taking action to tackle ocean plastic pollution at its source – and this is the right way to address the problem.’

Both academics say understanding the impact of ocean plastics on marine life is still in its early stages.

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
guest


0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Help us break the news – share your information, opinion or analysis