MICROBEADS TO BE BANNED
MP Masse calls prohibition good first step
Following a two-year effort led by MP Brian Masse, the federal government took the final steps in prohibiting the manufacture and sale of plastic microbeads in consumer products.
The manufacturing of microbeads is prohibited as of Jan. 1, 2018 and their sale is banned July 1, 2018.
“What (this motion) does is restrict the production and distribution of microbeads into the Canadian ecosystem,” said Masse, the NDP MP for Windsor West.
Microbeads are small plastic particles found in bath, body and hair products like shampoo and toothpaste. They’re often used for exfoliation or, depending on their size, to make a product smoother or softer.
But they also have a detrimental effect on the environment.
Microbeads are so small that they can bypass water filtration systems and make it into lakes and tributaries. Fish often mistake them for food and die of starvation.
Masse’s office called the concentrations of microplastics in the Great Lakes “alarmingly high.” They cite a 2012 study that found an average of 43,000 particles per kilometre in samples of Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Superior.
“Starting July of next year, (we) will begin the wind-down of production of them, and eventually the banning of them, for most products and services,” Masse said when reached by the Star.
Masse introduced the motion in March 2015 with then-NDP environment critic Megan Leslie.
“Even though it’s 2015 to 2017, it took a couple years — it moved rather quickly through the process to become a toxic substance,” Masse said.
The motion received all-party support in the House of Commons.
“We found common ground,” he said. “Basically, they’re unnecessary pollution. We need to take our water quality much more seriously, and this is one of the ways we can do so right away.”
Masse said that when he did community outreach about microbeads, a lot of people didn’t recognize the plastic was in products like shampoos and toothpaste.
“When they realized it wasn’t necessary, and they realized it’s something that needed to change, they jumped on board right away,” he said.
Masse said people in WindsorEssex signed petitions and wrote letters and emails “to say that enough’s enough and we need to clean up our environment.”
He called the banning of microbeads a good first step.
“We’re so blessed with the water quality that we have, in terms of fresh water,” Masse said. “And we’re the ones making it worse. It just doesn’t make any sense.
“I think there’s a lot of people that are starting to really see, not only just the principled statement of having a clean environment, but also the economic upswing of having a solid, clean environment. It makes remarkable sense for our future.”