Greenpeace urges UK Government to ban microbeads in cosmetics

Environmental group Greenpeace has urged the UK Government to ban the use of microbeads in several cosmetics products to protect ocean life.

These microbeads measure 0.1mm, which is too small to be stopped by water treatment plants, reported scmp.com. They are found in cosmetic products such as facial scrubs, exfoliators, shower gels, and toothpaste. 

Imperial College London's oceanographer and climate scientist Erik Van Sebille was quoted by the website saying that although these microbeads comprise only a fraction of the five to 12 million tonnes of plastic let out into the oceans every year, they are probably the most harmful.

Greenpeace researcher David Santillo also pointed out that a 125ml tube of exfoliator might contain thousands of microbeads and when they reach ocean, they are ingested by marine creatures.

In December, the UK Government plans to launch a three-month review process on banning the plastic microbeads.

A petition by the environmental group has collected over 375,000 signatures urging the government to follow the US's lead and curb the use of microbeads.