Last week, US President Barack Obama signed an executive order to stop the production and sale of cosmetic and hygiene products containing plastic microbeads in the country.
On July 1, 2017, the United States will stop producing facial cleansers, toothpaste and shampoo with plastic microgranules, and a year later, from July 1, 2018, even the sale of such products will stop in the country. The adopted restrictions also apply to microgranules that are part of the so-called biodegradable plastic.
The ban did not appear out of the blue: the state of California, which is known for its environmental initiatives all over the world, back in October passed a law to end the use of plastic microbeads in cosmetic products by 2020. Now these ideas have received national recognition, becoming known as the regulation HR 1321 (Microbead-Free Waters Act), and will be extended to all states.
The US restrictions on the use of plastic microbeads are designed to help combat one of the key environmental problems of our time - an exorbitant amount of microplastics that fill the world's oceans and cause irreparable damage to marine life. A recent report showed that 25% of fish sold in California markets contained pieces of plastic. In addition, scientists predict that by 2050, 99% of seabirds will eat plastic. Finally, UN officials have officially stated that biodegradable plastic, which is also subject to the US ban, actually degrades very poorly and has a very harmful effect on the ocean.
See also anekdotig:
- News: " Mr. Garbage Wheel Collected 350 Tons of Ocean Trash in Baltimore, USA in 1.5 Years " (December 25, 2015)
- News: " UN: 'Biodegradable' plastic decomposes poorly and harms the oceans " (November 25, 2015)
- News: " By 2050, over 99% of seabirds will eat plastic " (September 1, 2015)
- Newsletter: " Scientists prove for the first time that zooplankton eat microplastics found in the ocean " (July 27, 2015)
- Article: " Ocean garbage islands - a new heritage of civilization ."
- Video: Why is plastic marine litter so common? - informative short film .
- Video: " Plastic bottles and ocean pollution ".
- Advice: " Write to product manufacturers to stop plastic packaging " (July 27, 2015)