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"The UK government says it will consider a unilateral ban on plastic microbeads in shower gels and facial scrubs if the EU doesn't prohibit their use.
Several nations, including the US, have already banned microbeads in cosmetics because of their impact on marine life.
The beads are used in products to exfoliate the skin - but they are swelling plastic debris in the ocean.
Scientists say a ban on the tiny beads wouldn't solve plastic pollution, but it is an easy place to start.
The Environment Minister Rory Stewart told the Commons on Thursday: "If we cannot get a common position out of the European Union, we are open to the possibility of the UK acting unilaterally."
The move was welcomed by Greenpeace, which has campaigned against plastic pollution.
The problem is that microbeads are so tiny they slip through water treatment works and enter the ocean, where they are ingested by fish and other creatures.
The beads get stuck in creatures' stomachs and can be toxic in large quantities."
I am wondering if these plastic beads are "so tiny they slip through water treatment works" are they getting back into our drinking water system? I read some time ago when we drink a glass of tap water, on average it has passed through seven people. To beads or not to beads, that is the question. Apology to Shakespeare.
Are we being polluted with beads?
Full story here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36215582
Several nations, including the US, have already banned microbeads in cosmetics because of their impact on marine life.
The beads are used in products to exfoliate the skin - but they are swelling plastic debris in the ocean.
Scientists say a ban on the tiny beads wouldn't solve plastic pollution, but it is an easy place to start.
The Environment Minister Rory Stewart told the Commons on Thursday: "If we cannot get a common position out of the European Union, we are open to the possibility of the UK acting unilaterally."
The move was welcomed by Greenpeace, which has campaigned against plastic pollution.
The problem is that microbeads are so tiny they slip through water treatment works and enter the ocean, where they are ingested by fish and other creatures.
The beads get stuck in creatures' stomachs and can be toxic in large quantities."
I am wondering if these plastic beads are "so tiny they slip through water treatment works" are they getting back into our drinking water system? I read some time ago when we drink a glass of tap water, on average it has passed through seven people. To beads or not to beads, that is the question. Apology to Shakespeare.
Are we being polluted with beads?
Full story here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36215582
