Microbeads, those tiny plastic pellets found in body washes, facial scrubs, toothpaste and other toiletries and even pharmaceuticals, go down your drain, through the filters at most wastewater treatment plants and out into the environment.
Once in the water, microbeads easily absorb endocrine-disrupting and cancer-causing chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The chemical-laden beads, which resemble fish eggs, are then eaten by many forms of marine life, including plankton, fish, seabirds and whales.
Microbeads are so prevalent and damaging to the environment that the Canadian government banned their sale in toiletries by July 2018 and in non-prescription drugs by July 2019.1 Unfortunately, this is only one type of microplastic pollution, which refers to plastic particles less than 5 millimeters (0.19 inches) in size.