The government is exploring whether its ban on tiny pieces of plastic in cosmetics should be extended to other household products, to protect fish and other marine life.
Ministers promised earlier this year to ban microbeads in personal care products such as toothpaste and face scrubs by the end of 2017, but stopped short of pledging to ban them in other products.
Now, officials have called for more evidence on the environmental impact of other sources of microbeads, such as washing powder and householder cleaners. Campaigners said any ban should apply to all products washed down the drain.
In a consultation published on Tuesday, the government said microbeads from personal care products account for less than 4.1% of all microplastics entering the ocean, so a ban solely on those would “have only a small impact.”
“We are therefore taking this opportunity to ask for evidence on the extent of the environmental impacts of microbeads found in other products, to inform future UK actions to protect the marine environment,” officials wrote. Although a wider ban is not explicitly mentioned, the document says the evidence will inform “targeted, proportionate measures”.
A coalition of environmental groups – the Environmental Investigation Agency, Fauna & Flora International, Greenpeace UK and the Marine Conservation Society – welcomed the cosmetics ban but said it needed to be broader.
“It must cover all microplastics as marine life doesn’t distinguish between plastic from a face wash and plastic from a washing detergent, so the microbeads ban must cover all plastics in all household and industrial products that can go down our drains,” the groups said in a statement.
Microbeads have been shown to stunt fish growth and increase their mortality rates when ingested during their development. It is not yet clear whether they pose a threat to human health through the food chain, but the UK’s chief medical officer is investigating that risk.
More than 378,000 people have signed a petition calling for a ban on microbeads in products, which many retailers and companies are already on the verge of phasing out. Nearly three quarters of major cosmetic companies will have ceased to include them in cosmetic products by 2017, well ahead of the ban at the year’s end.
Andrea Leadsom, the environment secretary, said microbeads were “incredibly damaging to our sea life” and urged shoppers to eschew products containing microbeads today, ahead of the ban. “Whether you’re shopping for a loved one, or picking up a bargain in the sales, I urge shoppers to check any rinse-off cosmetics they are buying are microbead free,” she said.
Italy and France are in the process of implementing microbead bans in products, and other countries considering a ban include Ireland, South Korea, Taiwan, India and Australia. The US has already imposed a ban, though campaigners have criticised some of its loopholes.
“Theresa May’s government has stepped up on this issue and now they need to see it through. We can’t allow microbeads to pour through those loopholes and into our oceans,” said Elisabeth Whitebread, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace.
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