Pallone’s Bill for Microbead-Free Waters Passes Committee, Advances to House Floor

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, applauded Committee-passage of the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, which he introduced earlier this year with Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI-06). The legislation would prohibit the sale or distribution of personal care products that contain synthetic plastic microbeads. These small bits of plastic, used as exfoliants in personal care products like face wash, soap, and toothpaste, can slip through water treatment systems after they are washed down the drain. As a result, these microbeads often end up in local streams, rivers and larger bodies of water. The bill would ban the manufacturing of cosmetics products containing plastic microbeads effective July 1, 2017.

“Our bill to ban microbeads in personal care products is a bipartisan and commonsense step forward to protect the environment, and I am glad that the Committee unanimously agrees.” said Congressman Pallone. “Many people buying products containing microbeads are completely unaware that they are doing lasting damage to our waterways. We have an opportunity to transition to non-synthetic alternatives before it is too late. It is our responsibility to put a nationwide stop to this unnecessary pollution, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to advance this bill.”

Scientists have found evidence of microbeads in numerous bodies of water in the United States, including increasingly in the Great Lakes, the world’s largest source of freshwater. In addition to contributing to the buildup of plastic pollution in waterways, microbeads can often be mistaken by fish and other organisms as food. If consumed by fish, the chemicals found in synthetic plastic microbeads can then be passed on to other wildlife and humans.

Earlier this year, New Jersey passed a state law to ban the sale of cosmetics containing microbeads.