SCinthewater: If one day, the seabed is covered by plastic particle…...

If one day, the seabed is covered by plastic particle…...

Few days ago, I read an article issued by Environment News Service and realized I am hurting our environment everyday by using the facial wash and body wash. Those personal cleaning merchandises I use daily contain Micro Bead (or called Exfoliating Bead), which designed for exfoliation, is actually one kind of plastic ingredient. Formerly, I thought this micro bead is made by materials that can be dissolved and have used it for many years.

Quoted from Environment News Service:

“December 29, 2015 (ENS) – President Barack Obama Monday signed into law a bill phasing out the manufacture of facewash, toothpaste and shampoo containing plastic micro beads by July 1, 2017 and the sale of these products by July 1, 2018. ………

Plastic micro beads, designed to be washed down the drain and too small to be reliably captured by wastewater treatment facilities, pollute lakes, rivers and oceans. One tube of exfoliating facewash can contain more than 350,000 micro beads.”

For complete article please click the link.

The micro bead in the products we use for daily life can’t be dissolved in the water or filtered by wastewater treatment facilities. When we use those items for our personal cleaning, this tiny particle is washed down to drains, rivers and lakes, and eventually to the ocean.

The picture above was taken when I did muck dive somewhere last year. The interesting part of muck diving is finding critters on sandy seabed. It looks dull and nothing, but actually the seabed is the habitat of many beautiful creatures. If one day, the seabed is covered by plastic particle, can we still see these incredible lives?

I know we consume more plastic items than this micro bead. But let’s think about this matter in a different aspect. When we see trash underwater, we can easily pick it up and dump it in a proper place. On the other hand, how can we clean this tiny particle in the water which doesn’t belong to? Remember, this stuff is even too small to be seen.

Like most people, I am also an ordinary person that can’t do big work to help this environment. But at least I can stop harming the earth in daily life after knowing some information or knowledge. According to the article, some manufacturers have produced some replacements of plastic bead that can be dissolved. If you are willing to use some products without plastic bead to do little help to the environment, you can check the ingredients before purchase and avoid buying goods which contain polyethylene or polypropylene.