Microbeads ban ‘will not turn tide on pollution’

A ban on rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads which comes into force today does not go far enough, campaigners have warned.

The move applies to personal care products that contain the tiny pieces of plastic, and is part of efforts to prevent them being washed down the drain and ending up in rivers and seas.

But Dr Lyndsey Dodds, the head of marine policy at the wildlife charity WWF, said: “To tackle the tidal wave of plastic we need to think bigger than banning single sources. The Government needs to ban all unnecessary single-use plastics by 2025 and turn the tide on our throwaway culture.”