The House will consider a bipartisan bill banning plastic microbeads in cosmetics after it passed out of committee with unanimous support Wednesday.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent the Microbead Free Waters Act of 2015 to the floor of the House in a vote Wednesday morning. The bill would ban the tiny plastic beads put into soap, body wash and face creams, among other cosmetic substances.
The bill would change the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to ban all products containing synthetic plastic microbeads beginning on Jan. 1, 2018.
The tiny beads often get flushed out into the water supply and end up in rivers, lakes and oceans, said Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich.
“Because they are so small, they escape water filtration systems and end up in our bodies of water,” Upton said at a hearing Tuesday. “They are known to absorb pollutants, and are often mistaken as food by fish and wildlife.”
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., introduced the bill in March. He said the bill was a product of bipartisan work between him and Upton and he urged quick action.
“Synthetic plastic microbeads have polluted our nation’s waters for years and action is long overdue,” he said.
The bill mirrors action already taken by at least seven state legislatures to ban microbeads in cosmetic materials. Other states are considering their own bans, as is the Canadian government.
