Illinois bans plastic micro-beads in facial scrubs

Very soon, the facial exfoliators and body scrubs could come sans the little beads that you usually find in them, or at least, the plastic beads. Early this week, Illinois became the first jurisdiction in the world to ban those beastly little plastic spheres from personal care products and we applaud the move! The ban has been put in place to raise awareness in regards to the dangers little plastics pose to nature.

These tiny plastic beads are usually found in exfoliating face washes, body scrubs, hand sanitizers and toothpaste and are made of polyethylene or polypropylene, ranging in size from 0.0004 to 1.24 mm. Due to their extreme compactness, filtering these beads out of water at wastewater treatment plants is difficult. These beads are also buoyant and soak toxins, while fish, birds and mammals mistake them for fish eggs, causing these plastics to enter the food- chain. It’s about time more state authorities begin implementing this ban too!

[Via – CBC]