MA Lawmakers Consider Ban on “Microbead” Products

December 28, 2015

Tiny microbeads in personal care products, which pose dangers to humans and aquatic life, are washing into public waterways. A bill in the Wisconsin Legislature would ban them. --- credit: Alliance for the Great Lakes
Tiny plastic microbeads in personal-care products are washing into public waterways. Credit: Alliance for the Great Lakes

The Gloucester Times reports that Massachusetts lawmakers are considering several proposals to phase out the manufacturing and sale of products containing “microbeads”—tiny, plastic granules used in personal-care products—in the state by 2020.

Microbeads are used in a variety of products, including facial scrubs, body wash, makeup and toothpaste. Environmental groups say lakes, rivers and streams are becoming clogged with the non-biodegradable plastic particles, which easily pass through wastewater treatment systems and eventually find their way into the bodies of fish and other marine animals.

Read more about potential laws that may ban the sale of products containing microbeads in Massachusetts.

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