The ban on beads

Microbeads are tiny, solid pieces of non-biodegradable plastic, usually polyethylene or polypropylene, which are commonly found in personal care and household products; their size renders the filtering process of wastewater ineffective and each year billions of them end up in the ocean.

Already banned in Sweden and the US, microbeads have an adverse effect on marine life. There is evidence that fish and other marine creatures are ingesting these plastic particles, sometimes mistaking them for food, and that this could lead to poisoning, infertility and genetic disruption.

There have been cases of plastic particles being found in fish destined for human consumption and there are further concerns that if ingested in large enough quantities, plastic contaminated seafood could negatively impact on human health too. On November 14, the Government announced the launch of an investigation into this potential public health risk. Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, is to conduct the study.