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Wednesday, December 9, 2015

The House of Representatives Voted to Ban Microbeads

The House passed the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 by unanimous voice vote on Monday, December 7th, prohibiting the sale or distribution of cosmetics containing plastic microbeads. It is now left to the Senate to approve a federal measure. The house bill would ban manufacturing of the beads starting July 1, 2017, then later banning manufacturing and sales of the beads in 2018 and 2019. Many states have already banned these plastic beads. The first state to ban microbeads was Illinois in 2014. Shortly after, Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, and California all have banned microbeads. The nation is on it’s way to a cleaner, safer future, but it is also up to us to make that happen. "Action at the federal level sends a strong message that the true solution to the problem of plastic pollution in U.S. waters must focus on the sources," said Molly Flanagan, Alliance for the Great Lakes vice president for policy. It is important to educate others of the harms of microbeads and to stop the use of personal care products to keep our waters clean. 



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