October 16, 2015
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have joined the campaign to ban plastic microbeads in personal care products.
Senator Gillibrand introduced the bipartisan Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, legislation to federally ban cosmetics containing synthetic plastic microbeads. Attorney General Schneiderman’s bipartisan bill, also called the Microbead-Free Waters Act, would prohibit the sale and distribution of personal cosmetic products containing microbeads.
Plastic microbeads are found in personal care products like facial scrubs, body washes, hand cleansers, and toothpaste. These products are designed to be rinsed down the drain, but the microbeads are too small to be captured by wastewater treatment plants. They subsequently have been found in large bodies of water across New York, where they concentrate toxins and can be ingested by birds and fish, posing serious environmental and health risks.
An April report released by the Attorney General’s office found that microbeads were present in 74% of water samples taken from 34 municipal and private treatment plants across the state.
The plastic microbeads could have a devastating effect on the state’s fish populations, hurting the commercial and recreational fishing industries, tourism industry, and the general economic well-being of the state’s coastal communities.
“Microbeads are a threat to our environment, our wildlife, and our public health,” said Schneiderman. “It is estimated that up to 19 tons of plastic microbeads wash down drains each year and into New York’s waterways. Strong, comprehensive regulation is the only way to stop this situation from getting worse. My bipartisan bill in Albany and Sen. Gillibrand’s bipartisan bill in Washington will both be major steps toward a cleaner, healthier state.”
“These tiny pieces of plastic have already caused significant ecological damage to New York’s waterways, and they will continue to do so until they are removed from the marketplace. That’s why I introduced bipartisan legislation to federally ban microbeads across the country,” Gillibrand said.
Illinois has already banned plastic microbeads in consumer products, with legislation being considered in 13 other states, including New York.