Microbeads outlawed at last

PLASTIC microbeads are banned from cosmetics and care products from today under a ‘world-leading’ new law.

British manufacturers will no longer be able to add the tiny plastic pieces to rinse-off toiletries such as face scrubs, toothpastes and shower gels.

Microbeads are used in face scrubs to provide an abrasive element, but once washed down the drain they enter the seas, where they are swallowed by fish and crustaceans with potentially harmful effects.

The law will be followed later this year by a ban on the sale of any products containing microbeads, the Government said. The legislation marks a victory for the Daily Mail’s Ban the Beads campaign.

Environment minister Therese Coffey said: ‘I am determined we act now to tackle the plastic that devastates our precious marine life. Microbeads are entirely unnecessary when there are so many natural alternatives available, and I am delighted that from today cosmetics manufacturers will no longer be able to add this harmful plastic to their rinse-off products.’

Dr Sue Kinsey, senior pollution officer at the Marine Conservation Society, welcomed the ‘robust’ ban, saying it was the strongest and most comprehensive in the world.