Hazardous plastic micro-beads continue to be used in cosmetics

Even though the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has imposed a permanent ban on the use of plastic micro-beads in personal care and cosmetic products, it continues to be used by manufacturers, unabated. A report

Following a case filed with National Green Tribunal (NGT) by a Delhi-based lawyer in 201, Ashwini Kumar, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) banned the use of plastic micro-beads in cosmetics in October 2017. However, since this ban is slated to be be implemented only in 2020, plastic micro-beads continue to be used unchecked in cosmetics, according to a report published by News18 .

Till the ban gets effectively implemented, millions of people using cosmetic products in India will continue to pour hundreds of tons of plastic in the form of micro-beads down the drain, harming the marine life unwittingly.

A global movement

Nearly coinciding with the NGT trial in India, a massive global campaign was unleashed by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2017 in order to eliminate the major sources of marine litter—the microplastics used in cosmetics and the excessive, wasteful usage of single-use plastic. The organisation has set a target to stop the use of these toxic substances by the year 2022.

In a statement, Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment, says: “It is past time that we tackle the plastic problem that blights our oceans. Plastic pollution is surfing onto Indonesian beaches, settling onto the ocean floor at the North Pole, and rising through the food chain onto our dinner tables. We’ve stood by too long as the problem has gotten worse. It must stop.”

A by-product in oil and gas industries, plastic micro-beads are the tiny grain-like particles ad-measuring between 0.001 and 1.000 millimetres each. Widely used in body care products such as creams, face washes, soaps and body scrubs worldwide, its use in personal care and cosmetics has been banned only in a few countries including Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States, besides India.

Plastic micro-beads up-close

A survey carried out by an India-based environment research and policy advocacy organisation, Toxics Link, found that nearly 28 per cent of all tested personal care and cosmetic products sold in India consisted of plastic micro-beads. The study reveals that 50 percent of the face wash products and 67 percent of the facial scrubs contain plastic micro-beads.

Since plastic micro-beads do not get caught in the commonly used filters in sewage treatment plants due to the size of individual particles, they end up entering oceans and other water bodies, and stay there. Being non-biodegradable, micro-beads are deemed toxic and harmful to environment and are often unknowingly consumed by fish and other marine organisms.

Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link observes that microplastics adversely impact the reproductive system of marine species. “These toxic and harmful chemicals ultimately move up the food chain and reach human beings,” he says.

According to a research paper published by the American scientists Chelsea M. Rochman, Sara M. Kross, Jonathan B. Armstrong, and others, nearly 8 trillion micro-beads are emitted into aquatic habitats in the United States every day. “If you line these micro-beads up side by side, assuming they are 100 μm spheres, the United States emits enough micro-beads to cover >300 tennis courts daily," the report mentions highlighting the gravity of the problem.

Natural alternatives to micro-beads  

The use of micro-beads in cosmetics and personal care products became popular due to their coarse-granular characteristic which provides the ability to cleanse the surface of the skin with a shade of abrasion. The ingredients that were traditionally used to provide a similar exfoliating effect were the powders of walnut or almond shells.

However, plastic micro-beads, a by-product in oil and gas industries, soon became easily accessible as a cheaper alternative to natural ingredients that were in use earlier. Since the core substance, polyethylene was also deemed as safe to humans (in the past), micro-beads proved to be a popular and inexpensive choice of personal care and cosmetic products manufacturers for several years.

However, many new biodegradable substances are emerging as better, environment-friendly alternatives. Some of these include rice, apricot seeds, powdered pecan shells, and bamboo besides walnut shells. A focus on using these alternatives in cosmetic products can also provide an immense boost to India’s agricultural sector and boost the bottom lines of farmers by providing them with a profitable new source of supplementary revenues.