8 Trillion Small Plastic Pieces Enter Aquatic Habitats Daily
A new report from researchers at 7 different institutions suggests that in the United States that approximately “8 trillion plastic microbeads enter aquatic habitats each day — often with dire consequences to wildlife.” Many of the plastics come from personal care products such as tooth paste and body wash. The tiny plastic beads are as small as a grain of sand and are “intended to scrub, clean, and exfoliate.” While the plastic beads are extremely small, they aren’t caught by water filtration devices, aren’t biodegradable, and are often ingested by marine wildlife. Fortunately many states and the federal government are taking steps to keep our wildlife safe. Twelve steps have taken steps to eliminate microbeads in personal care products, new legislation was introduced in Congress that would ban microbeads in beginning in 2018, and companies such as L’Oreal and Colgate-Palmolive have taken steps to remove them from their products.
To learn more about microbeads are infiltrating the habitats of our marine wildlife, follow the link: http://bit.ly/1V9tAlO