94,500 ‘plastic poison’ beads in a daily face scrub
AROUND 94,500 environmentally damaging microbeads are released by facial scrubs in every wash, a study by British scientists has found.
The tiny plastic spheres are used in certain scrubs to exfoliate dead skin cells, leaving the user with a fresh, rosy face.
Up to 2.8million beads are contained in one tube of facial scrub.
But when the microbeads end up in the sea, the plastic soaks up poisonous chemicals in the environment.
They are then mistaken for plankton and eaten by marine life. This can cause physical damage and even poison fish and other sea creatures, potentially increasing the poison found in the fish we eat.
A study by Plymouth University counted the number of microbeads in facial scrubs and found there were 94,500 in each wash.
Richard Thompson, professor of marine biology at the university, said the beads measure from 0.01mm to 1mm in size.
‘Their size means they can pass through sewage treatment screens and be discharged into rivers and oceans,’ he told the Sunday Times.
The beads are small enough to go down the plughole and pass through water filtration systems, which filter out foreign bodies larger than 5mm.
As well as being present in facial washes, the beads are in toothpaste and some soaps.
Labour MP Mary Creagh, chairman of the environmental audit committee which is holding an inquiry into microplastics, said: ‘Most of us would be horrified to learn how many bathroom products contain this plastic rubbish.’
The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association said that Cosmetics Europe, a representative body, had recommended that microbeads be phased out.
A spokesman for L’Oreal, whose products were among those tested, said the company accepted the evisold
‘Most of us would be horrified’
dence against microbeads, adding: ‘We are phasing out polyethylene microbeads in our rinse-off products.’
The US government has banned microbeads in consumer products under a law that will go into full effect in 2017.
This month Waitrose announced it will ban microbeads from all products in its shops. The supermarket chain has already removed them from its own beauty products and has promised that from September it will stock only branded products which do not contain them.
Banning microbeads makes sense, campaigners say, because they are not necessary for washing products.
Their abrasive effect can be replicated by natural exfoliants such as tiny fragments of rice, apricot seeds, walnut shells and bamboo.
Banning microbeads, however, will not end microplastic pollution. All plastic items that end up in lakes, rivers and the sea tend to disintegrate, creating tiny scraps of plastic with a similar effect.
Synthetic fabrics, such as nylon and polyester, also disintegrate, and tiny plastic ‘microfibres’ are also eaten by marine life, with a similar effect to microbeads.