Low Impact

I think we’ve all accepted the fact that plastic isn’t the environment’s best friend. It doesn’t break down or decompose (at least not in reasonable timescales). It’s typically made from that rapidly diminishing resource – oil. And when it makes it way into our water-ways, it strangles, chokes or otherwise injures a whole host of marine sea life.

Given all of that, its surprising that many households are flushing bits of plastic straight down the drains.

I’m talking about “scrubs”, also known as “exfoliants”. For those fellas in the audience who haven’t embraced that metrosexual trend, exfoliants are cosmetics that help get rid of dead skin cells – think of it as a very, very, very gentle sandpaper for the face (the things people do for “beauty”)! In the past, exfoliants have typically used natural ingredients like pulverised grape seeds in a foaming base. But for whatever reason, be it cost, or producing a more standardised product, many exfoliants now use microbeads of plastic.

So, you rub on your exfoliant, you rinse your face, and hundreds of miniature beads of plastic wash down the sink, into our waterways, and eventually the ocean. Being plastic, those beads don’t break down, and they don’t get digested – they just persist in the environment.

There haven’t been that many studies on what the long term effect is of these plastic granules floating around the ocean. It appears likely that the particles do end up inside of marine creatures. Zooplankton in particular, tiny marine creatures that filter particles out of the water for food, can end up “swallowing” these little beads. It’s not clear whether the plastic ends up harming these little critters, or if it can start to build up in higher levels as it goes up the food chain.

One study has found that these plastic beads can act as a sponge for such poisons as DDT and PCBs. So wherever these bits of plastic end up, they bring some unwelcome baggage with them! There is a very extensive article at Orion magazine that describes some of the research that has been done, and this FoxNews article is also a worthwhile read.

With all the other environmental problems plastic has caused us, flushing microbeads of the stuff into the ocean has to be a questionable idea at best! This is another case where we can take action by being informed consumers. Next time you’re buying cosmetics, skip past the promotional claims and actually read the ingredients. (That’s a scary exercise in itself, but I’ll leave the other environmental and health aspects of cosmetics for another post). Look for “Polyethylene” – this is the name for the type of plastic used to make the microbeads.

If you see that, you might want to move along to the next bottle which uses pulverised grape seeds, or oatmeal or any one of a number of other natural sources that will biodegrade. It sure beats swimming with your mouth closed next time you’re at the beach. You might also want to drop a line to your favourite cosmetics brand too, to let them know how grateful you are that they don’t use plastic microbeads…or to let them know that you’ll be switching brands because they do. In the end, cosmetics companies are there to provide you with the product you want – a polite letter or email can help them provide that service.

Categories: environment, green

Tags: cosmetics, marine, plastic