Microbeads: Product Design Flaw Leads To Environmental Disaster

Shared by Aznita:�http://www.fastcoexist.com/3032140/how-a-product-design-oversight-in-your-face-wash-became-an-environmental-disaster

But all of this innovation also gets washed down the drain, and that�s the problem. Because the spheres are too small to be removed in many wastewater treatment plants, they end up in the lakes, oceans, and other waterways. Instead of decomposing, they just float around, and toxins like pesticides and PCBs that already are in the water can cling to their surfaces. Eventually, the plastics can wind up in the stomachs of birds and even seafood that humans eat, though the extent that this is happening is not known.

Illinois�recently became�the first U.S. state to require companies to phase microbeads out of their products by 2019, by the time a complete ban is enacted; New York and California are currently considering their own laws. A New Jersey representative just�introduced�a federal bill in Congress last week, and similar campaigns are happening in Europe.

Use soap!!

Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2014/06/23/product-design-flaw-leads..

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