Plastic (Polyethylene) Microbeads

Plastic (Polyethylene) Micobeads

By - Tetyana Ekwalanga

Microbeads are tiny plastic fragments that are anywhere between 1 and 5 millimeters in diameter. They are found in hundreds of popular household products such as body washes, cosmetic products, cleaning supplies, and toothpastes, and you probably use them every single day. Whenever you see "exfoliating scrubbers" on your products, those are most likely microbeads. They have become popular substitutes for natural exfoliating materials such as pumice, apricot, oatmeal, rice, and cocoa beads. 

Microbeads are made from the chemical compound polyethylene (C2H4)n which is a type of plastic. The issue with using plastic as an exfoliate is the fact that they are basically small balls of solid oil, and these balls of oil easily attract and absorb other harmful chemicals and persistent organic pollutants (POP’s).

Because these microbeads are so small, they easily pass through household drains and water filtration systems. Once they pass through the filtration systems, they end up going through and polluting our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Microbeads are found on the shores of every beach in the world, and the USA alone washes 808 trillion microbeads down the drain every single day. Imagine the total number of microbeads that are littered throughout our water systems daily. These pollutants can last in the environment for over 50 years, and aquatic animals like fish and birds ingest the beads mistaking them for food. This doesn’t just deprive the animals of vital nutrients, the harmful chemicals in the beads can cause serious harm and death.

When aquatic animals ingest microbeads, they will eventually be consumed by other species, and the toxins will travel up the food chain and into other ecosystems. Although there are no immediate risks when using household products that contain exfoliating microbeads, the environment faces many risks and challenges that will eventually resurface as “human problems.”

Instead of using products that contain microbeads, try switching to products that use natural exfoliants instead. They are just as effective, and far less damaging to the environment.

References

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Johnson, C. (2016). Personal Grooming Products May Be Harming Great Lakes Marine Life. Scientific American. Retrieved 24 October 2016, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microplastic-pollution-in-the-great-lakes/

Polyethylene - New World Encyclopedia. (2016). Newworldencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 29 October 2016, from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Polyethylene

Rochman, C., Kross, S., Armstrong, J., Bogan, M., Darling, E., & Green, S. et al. (2015). Scientific Evidence Supports a Ban on Microbeads. Environmental Science & Technology, 49(18), 10759-10761. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03909

Rogers, T. (2015). Everything You Need To Know About Polyethylene (PE). Creativemechanisms.com. Retrieved 29 October 2016, from https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/polyethylene-pe-for-prototypes-3d-printing-and-cnc

 Wardrop, P., Shimeta, J., Nugegoda, D., Morrison, P., Miranda, A., Tang, M., & Clarke, B. Chemical pollutants sorbed to ingested microbeads from personal care products accumulate in fish (pp. 4037-4042). American Chemical Society (United States).