Microbeads: Hundreds of thousands call for dangerous particles to be banned from facial scrubs and toothpastes

The tiny, toxic particles have already been banned in the US, and the UK government has said it would support a ban in principle

A toothpaste with speckled microbeads (Creative Commons)

The prime minister must ban toxic micro plastic particles from households, according a petition signed by hundreds of thousands of people.

The small plastic particles known as microbeads should be banned from use across the country, according to a petition signed by more than 300,000 people.

At the moment, microbeads are used in everything from facial scrubs to toothpaste. From there they make their way into oceans around the world and can cause huge damage to fish and other marine life.

As a result they have already been banned in the US. The UK government has said that it would support such a ban in principle.

Many companies have already committed to phase out the use of microbeads in their products. But there are fears that they are still being produced and so continuing to contribute to the damage of the oceans.

The new petition was presented by environmental campaigners including GreenpeaceUK, the Environmental Investigation Agency and the Marine Conservation Society.

“The public outcry for a ban on microbeads is unprecedented,” said Rosie Rogers, senior political advisor at Greenpeace UK. “Our own polling has shown that the public is overwhelmingly behind any action that would stop our everyday skincare products or toothpastes inadvertently polluting the ocean.

“On World Oceans Day it’s worth remembering that the impact of the plastics we release into the marine ecosystem has never been more detrimental and shows no sign of slowing.Fortunately microbeads are one of those rare things – an environmental problem that is pretty easy to solve with a simple and straightforward ban. Hundreds of thousands of us clearly want David Cameron to show leadership and ban microbeads.”