Monday, April 27, 2015

Microbeads in your toothpaste may be hurting our water supply

While looking through a list of recent legislation for the Great Lakes states and provinces, I see most are trying to institute a microbead ban--didn't see anything for Ohio but we're still working on BS blooming in Lake Erie. Apparently, they are common in toothpastes, including some of the Crest brands I like. Yuk. Check the label for polyethylene. They can't be filtered out of the waste water.

http://dentalpatientnews.com/which-toothpastes-contain-microbeads/#sthash.fUwEqA9H.jMFu2ajU.dpbs

“Typically, microplastics are defined as plastic pieces measuring less than 5 millimeters (mm). The microbeads found in personal care products are almost always smaller than 1 mm. These micro particles are made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and nylon. Microbeads of polyethylene or polypropylene are the most common.”

http://www.watershedcouncil.org/learn/microbeads-in-the-great-lakes/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/tiny-plastic-microbeads-pile-problems-great-lakes/

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