Cosmetics giants beg Brussels to water down UK microbeads ban
Cosmetics giants are trying to persuade the european Union to limit a British ban on plastic poison microbeads.
The government announced plans for a ban on the use of microplastics in all rinse- off cosmetic products earlier this year following the Daily Mail’s Ban The Beads campaign.
The proposed ban would include make-up and mascara, which contain tiny pieces of plastic, as well as body and face scrubs.
However, the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) has lodged a formal objection with the european Commission.
The industry body says that any ban should be limited to exfoliating scrubs and claims the proposal goes too far.
Microplastics are so small they escape the filters in sewage plants and are flushed into the rivers and seas where they become magnets for toxins. The particles are then consumed by fish and end up on our dinner plates.
The attempt by the beauty industry to narrow the Uk’s plan for a ban has alarmed green campaigners.
in a joint statement, the microbeads coalition – the environmental investigation Agency, fauna and flora international, greenpeace Uk and the Marine Conservation Society – said: ‘Our seas have become a dumping ground for plastic waste including microplastics, which are just as harmful to marine wildlife and ecosystems as larger plastic items, even if they are less visible.
‘Solid microplastic ingredients should never be used in products that are directly washed down the drain into our waterways. These ingre- dients include not only exfoliating microbeads, which have been well publicised, but also a range of other microplastic ingredients used for a variety of purposes that pose just as much of a threat to the marine environment.
‘The ban announced by the Uk government is worldleading in its ambition to successfully put a stop to this source of marine pollution. A weakening of the ban would prevent effective, robust legislation and would allow damaging microplastics to continue flowing into our seas.
‘ Pollution is pollution, regardless of the role a microplastic ingredient plays within a product.’
The environment Secret ar y, Michael gove, announced the ban in July, saying it was vital to minimise plastic pollution of the environment.
However, as Britain is still a member of the eU, the proposal, known as a statutory instrument, has to be approved by Brussels and other member states.
The CTPA says the industry has already volunteered to remove microbeads from body and face scrubs. it argues there is no justification for Britain to extend the ban to other beauty products.
its eU submission states: ‘if implemented in its current form, the statutory instrument will cause concerns over single market issues and freedom of services as well as leading to barriers to trade.
‘There is no scientific evidence to support the need for any ban to go beyond the scope of those articles industry has already volunteered to remove from rinse-off cosmetic products, namely solid plastic microbeads used for cleansing or exfoliating.
‘CTPA is therefore seeking to have the scope of the Uk ban brought into line with the scientific evidence and with bans enacted elsewhere in the eU and globally as well as aligning it with the voluntary action industry has already implemented effectively.’