Body scrub with micro beads

10 years ago

I was given a gift that included a body scrub with those horrible, polluting micro beads that get into the water supply, and never go away. I don't want to use it, but, if I toss it, it will go to a landfill, where it will still be polluting. Besides taking it to a hazardous waste facility, what would you do with it? Why are they still making this, and why in the world would someone buy it????

Featured Answer

User

10 years ago

From sierraclub.org...

First let's review. “Microbeads” are tiny beads of plastic less than a millimeter thick that are often added to cosmetics as exfoliants and cleansing agents. Even some toothpastes contain them. It may sound like a strange use of plastic, but cosmetic companies apparently found that microbeads were cheaper than non-synthetic alternatives. The beads themselves (also called “mermaid’s tears”) are made of polyethylene or polystyrene. They are not toxic, but can pass through filters in water treatment plants and enter the water system. There, researchers warn, they can bind to toxic substances such as DDT, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Creatures in the water ingest these now poisonous little pellets, endangering themselves and the food chain. Yeah, I know, it’s weird to think that by washing your face or brushing your teeth you might beget a mutant fish—or mermaid—smack in the middle of Lake Erie, but such are the risks of progress through chemistry.

So--the safest way to get rid of the stuff is to leave it in its container, tighten the lid, and send it to the landfill with your regular garbage where it's quite unlikely to escape into the environment. But NEVER, ever, not ever, pour it down a drain or flush it down the toilet, because that’s exactly how it spreads into the watershed.

By the way, to find out if a product contains these deadly beads, check the label for “polyethylene,” “PE,” “polystyrene,” or PS. The organization Beat the Microbead has a list of products known to contain the beads.

Some good news: The fight against these beady polluters is already having some success. Illinois has banned the manufacture and sale of products containing microbeads, and bans have been proposed in several other states. There is also a growing movement to ban the beads in Europe. The cosmetics industry itself is in damage-control mode as some major companies have agreed to replace the microbeads with safer materials. This is a hopeful sign, because, as we’ve noted before, the last thing we need is still more plastic in our rivers, lakes, and oceans. —Bob Schildgen

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Comments (11)

arkansas girl
10 years ago
Wow, I had no idea!
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Bowl emptier could be a raccoon. For the first time in daylight, I saw one about noon yesterday. Large, walking along the perimeter wooden fence until the neighbor's yard. I figured he was going for a drink in her many ground bird baths... but she was busy scrubbing them out. About 3 pm he appeared at one of my table birdbath dishes, standing with his hind legs up on the tree trunk behind, and his paws on the table... I think he was familiar with this dish! (And then he spent a long time nearby digging in the leaves for uneaten birdseed thrown earlier.) I had suspected raccoons were pursuing water in my yard at night, from the overturned containers. Like you said, DG, we are in the midst of a SCORCHER! Thankfully the alligators don't need to hunt for water!
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jeaninwa
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Jmc101, THANK YOU!!!! I checked the bottle to see if the ingredients include polyethylene,” “PE,” “polystyrene,” or PS, and it DOESN'T! The "scrubbies" are made from walnut shells! This makes me very happy for several reasons! #1 is that it won't be contributing to damaging our water. #2 is I can USE IT! It smells lovely (fair trade oranges from Ethiopia). If I hadn't known what to look for, I probably would have thrown it away. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Just goes to show you, you shouldn't always think the worst. I'm so happy!

I'm so glad I asked here first before tossing!
Suzieque
10 years ago
Wow - I had no idea, either. Thank you for enlightening me.
nanny98
10 years ago
NEWS to me as well....Thanks!
User
10 years ago
Glad I could help, Jean. I avoid PEs as well.
janey_alabama
10 years ago
Add me to the list of did not know. Very informative Bob thank you. Will be sure to tell others.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I am glad to hear about that. I had some given to me years ago when they first came out. I tried it to shower with but didn't like it. Well I started having a problem with my ear. My doctor got his scope and was doing a through examination of my ears. He said well this is the strangest thing. You have these tiny tiny blue balls way down in your ear canal. What could it be. We had no idea. So he flushed them multiple times but some were stuck. I was wondering what on earth it could be. The next day in the shower I was looking right at the bottle in the shower rack. And bam I realized that the tiny blue balls were those dang scrubbing beads. I called my doctor, who was also my neighbor and friend, and told him what it was. He was astounded. I threw that bottle in the trash. He said he didn't see how that could be good at all, no telling what they can do to the ear drum. So if you are using the stuff be aware that you probably have them down in your ears.
joyfulguy
10 years ago
And most all of that stuff is sourced from petroleum ...

... that took millions of years to make ...

... and we've been using for less than 125 years.

More stealing by overuse of precious resources that'll be needed by future generations (even as soon as our grandkids?).

How do you use solar/wind power to fly a plane?

Most of the plastics break up into tiny pieces when they get old ... you can throw them into the compost if you like, but they won't rot and contribute one iota of value to the vegetables, flowers or trees growing there.

ole joyful ... who lives within a couple of miles of Canada's largest city's recently acquired "landfill" (i.e. "dump")
User
10 years ago
THere needs to be a movement to outlaw this stuff. We've known how awful those beads are for ages.
Jasdip
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
It was on the news that Obama signed a bill today to ban those micro-beads. That's a step in the right direction! I hope we follow the same lead.

Body scrub with micro beads

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arkansas girl

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Body scrub with micro beads

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