While these small plastic particles are widely used in many consumer items, they are in fact incredibly detrimental to aquatic life.
As we know, the ocean has been suffering from plastic pollution for many years.
Due to the fact that most plastics take ridiculously long periods of time to decompose (450 years for the average plastic bottle), oceans, lakes and rivers all over the world have become overrun with shopping bags, crisp packets and other plastic items that have adverse effects on aquatic life.
And in many ways micro-beads are the worst plastic pollutants, mainly due to their size and the quantity that has accumulated in the planets oceans.
As we know, the ocean has been suffering from plastic pollution for many years.
Due to the fact that most plastics take ridiculously long periods of time to decompose (450 years for the average plastic bottle), oceans, lakes and rivers all over the world have become overrun with shopping bags, crisp packets and other plastic items that have adverse effects on aquatic life.
And in many ways micro-beads are the worst plastic pollutants, mainly due to their size and the quantity that has accumulated in the planets oceans.
As Micro-beads are so small in size they are not filtered out by sewage treatment plants, so when you wash your face with Clean and Clear facial scrub and it flows down the drain, rest assured the small plastic particles have a one way ticket to the beach. Once these particles enter the ocean they have highly adverse effects on the ocean environment.
Firstly, many aquatic life from fish to turtles and seabirds tend to eat micro-beads (probably due to their resemblance to fish eggs). This can cause the digestive systems of these creatures to become blocked and cause illness and death.
It can also cause malnutrition, as instead of finding actual food to eat, the ocean wildlife have been filling themselves on a diet of nutrient-absent plastic particles.
Secondly, plastic micro-beads act as sponges to industrial chemicals such as pesticides, and can carry a range of substances on their surfaces. These can be toxic to ocean life, and may lead to dangerous substances entering the food chain, and possibly ending up inside a fish on a plate in front of a hungry human being.
Microbeads can also accumulate in huge amounts on the ocean floor and choke growing plant-life, which has huge ramifications for all of the species that depend on such vegetation.
Sadly their doesn't seem to be any way of removing micro-beads from oceans, rivers and lakes at the moment. however many environmentalists and scientists are working to prevent these particles from being used as ingredients in grooming products in the future, therefore stopping more of these pollutants entering fragile aquatic environments.
As plastic microbeads have been proven to be detrimental to aquatic life, (and even to be useless as exfoliants, which is surprising seeing as thats their only reason for existing), many cosmetic companies keep them as they are cheap to manufacture.
It can also cause malnutrition, as instead of finding actual food to eat, the ocean wildlife have been filling themselves on a diet of nutrient-absent plastic particles.
Secondly, plastic micro-beads act as sponges to industrial chemicals such as pesticides, and can carry a range of substances on their surfaces. These can be toxic to ocean life, and may lead to dangerous substances entering the food chain, and possibly ending up inside a fish on a plate in front of a hungry human being.
Microbeads can also accumulate in huge amounts on the ocean floor and choke growing plant-life, which has huge ramifications for all of the species that depend on such vegetation.
Sadly their doesn't seem to be any way of removing micro-beads from oceans, rivers and lakes at the moment. however many environmentalists and scientists are working to prevent these particles from being used as ingredients in grooming products in the future, therefore stopping more of these pollutants entering fragile aquatic environments.
As plastic microbeads have been proven to be detrimental to aquatic life, (and even to be useless as exfoliants, which is surprising seeing as thats their only reason for existing), many cosmetic companies keep them as they are cheap to manufacture.
If you wish to help in the fight against these pollutants, you could only use products that use more natural exfoliants .i.e. salts, sands, sugars etc and avoid the products that use plastics.
You could also spread the word on the dangers of micro-beads, help your friends and family discover more environmentally-friendly products to use, and donate money to organisations such as the WWF, and Greenpeace; organisations fighting to keep our oceans as healthy and bio-diverse as possible.
-Thomas Glen
Photo's: not my own
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