I have posted about the issues surrounding the use of microbeads before, highlighting what the issue is and what legislative actions were being proposed at the time. Illinois appears to be taking the lead in combating the problem.
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The new law bans the manufacture of personal care products containing microbeads by the end of 2017, the sale of personal care products and the manufacture of over the counter drugs by the end of 2018, and the sale of over the counter drugs by the end of 2019.
Environmentalists have said the non-biodegradable plastic particles used as exfoliants in many facial cleansers and soaps slip through sewage system filters and pile up in waterways, where they suck up toxins and harm wildlife. Preliminary studies in Lake Michigan have found millions of microbeads.
“I’m optimistic that we’ve started a nationwide movement to protect not just the Great Lakes, but other bodies of water with high concentrations of microbeads,” said State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, who co-sponsored the bill.
At least four other states are considering similar bills, and at least one, New York, has an earlier deadline -- 2016 -- for eliminating the microbeads.
Governor signs bill making Illinois first state to ban microbeads - Chicago Tribune
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