Tiny grains of plastic outlawed

If you’ve ever wondered what the ‘exfoliating microbeads’ in many scrubs and soap products were made of, you might be shocked to know that they are typically tiny pieces of plastic, which when used are simply washed down the drain where they make their way to the ocean – and ultimately into our food chain.

A single jar of facial cleanser can contain up to 300,000 pieces of plastic, which are easily mistaken for food by tiny marine creatures, that are then eaten by larger fish – however there is some good news coming out of the US state of California. There, lawmakers have signed a bill that would outlaw all microbeads in California, with the law coming into effect in 2020 if it passes the state senate.