Are Microbead Bans Missing The Point?

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are gathering support at the state and federal levels for new microbead restrictions. There is widespread consensus on the need to crack down on this pollutant: the tiny plastic beads in toothpastes, facial cleaners, and other personal care products.

The top lawmaker on the House Energy and Commerce Committee Fred Upton, a Republican, boiled the issue down to this: “Simply put, microbeads are causing mega-problems.”

A United Nations report explained: "These microplastics tend not to be filtered out during sewage treatment, but are released directly into rivers, lakes and the ocean.”

Bipartisan legislation is under consideration in Congress to phase out microbeads, and eight states have already regulated the materials.

“According to Noelle Clemente, spokeswoman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the bill's effectiveness lies in crafting language in concert with all stakeholders—the wastewater utilities, states, industry and environmental groups,” Bloomberg BNA reported.

But in spite of the unusual level of bipartisan agreement on this issue, some critics say the push to clamp down on microbeads is missing the point. Allen Burton, a professor at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, explained this perspective. He is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry.

“Banning microbeads is not getting at the true problem,” Burton said, per Bloomberg BNA.

He pointed to other forms of pollution that wreak havoc on environmental waters. “Federal and state lawmakers haven't acted this quickly on any other number of significant stressors in the Great Lakes and other waters that are adversely affecting fish and other aquatic life, such as nutrient runoff that leads to algae blooms and fish kills, and metals contamination, he said,” Bloomberg BNA reported.

Microbeads are one “minor” part of a larger issue, Burton said, arguing that the bigger crisis is microplastics, according to Bloomberg BNA. The report explained:

Microplastics are defined in scientific literature as fibers, films, fragments or granular particles smaller than 5 millimeters in size and made of synthetic polymers, such as polyethylene. Fragments or shards arise from the breakdown of plastic cups, beverage bottles, bags, utensils, plates and other larger products.

The U.S. EPA says microplastics now exist in every ocean, according to Bloomberg BNA. Plastics cause $13 billion of damage annually to aquatic environments, the United Nations report said.

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