On microplastics

Lawmakers in Albany could make New York the first state to outlaw the tiny plastic beads used in personal care products like facial scrubs and toothpastes. It has been found that tens of millions of these beads have been appearing in the Great Lakes, with high concentrations along the New York shores of Lake Erie. They accumulate in the gut of fish and birds, eventually causing their death, and they often become coated with toxins like PCBs. Scientists suggest that those toxins could be working their way back up the food chain to humans.

There is no physical way to filter them out of water systems, because they are so small that they slip through wastewater treatment plants. They have been found as far away as the Los Angeles River and in the Pacific Ocean.

Some manufacturers, including Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, have agreed to phase out the use of plastic beads. Others, such as Burt’s Bees, already use non-plastic alternatives like powdered pecan shells, that are bio-degradable. But thousands of products around the world still include plastic beads. Be careful what you buy.

See this video on plankton and microplastics: