A specialist with the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says the decision by cosmetic companies to stop using tiny plastic micro-beads is a good first step for the Great Lakes.
But Geoff Peach also points out it's unlikely that decision would have been made, had it not been for federal legislation that was passed last week, declaring the beads a toxic substance.
Peach explains the beads had been used in a growing number of products, with the result that when they ended up in the Great Lakes, they posed a serious threat to marine life. The industry had recently started to police itself and remove the beads from certain products, but Peach maintains that was the result of the legislation being passed in some U.S. states and finally in Canada.
The tiny micro-beads were used in things like soaps, cosmetics, exfoliating creams and even tooth paste. Peach adds there are natural materials that can be used instead of the micro-beads so it should not be a difficult transition for the industry.
