Microbeads, the tiny pieces of plastic which are contained in many exfoliating spa and beauty products, as well as toothpastes, have been banned in the UK for the first time.
The ban stops manufacturers across all industries from making any products containing microbeads, as it has been proven they make their way into the water cycle and oceans, where they can be ingested by marine creatures and enter the food chain.
Environment minister Therese Coffey heralded the ban as a landmark step which will help to prevent billions of microbeads ending up in the ocean every year.
She says: “The world’s seas and oceans are some of our most valuable natural assets and I am determined we act now to tackle the plastic that devastates marine life. Microbeads are entirely unnecessary when there are so many natural alternatives available, and I am delighted that from today manufacturers will no longer be able to add this harmful plastic to their rinse-off products.”
“We are delighted that such a robust microbead ban has come into force,” says Sue Kinsey, senior pollution officer at the non-profit Marine Conservation Society. “This is the strongest and most comprehensive ban to be enacted in the world and will help to stem the flow of microplastics into our oceans.”
In 2015, former president Barack Obama signed a bill into US law banning microbeads. A ban on the sale of products containing microbeads will follow later in the year.
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