AM supports microbeads ban

Assembly Member Joyce Watson is backing Welsh Government plans to ban microbeads in Wales

The ban will apply to the supply and manufacture of ‘rinse-off’ personal care products which contain plastic microbeads.

Plastic microbeads are a common ingredient in many hand cleansers, face scrubs, toothpastes, shower gels, cosmetics and other personal care products.  When washed down the drain, they are too small to be filtered out in sewage treatment systems, so a proportion enter the marine environment, causing harm to marine life.

Joyce said:

“Microbeads are harmful to our oceans and are completely unnecessary.  This ban is about stopping these pollutants from entering our seas and harming sea life.”

“We are working hard in Wales to reduce waste and our record as the best recycling nation in the UK is one to be proud of.”

“I also welcome Welsh Government plans to develop water refill points at key points along our Wales Coast Path, helping reduce further the amount of plastic entering our seas”

“We can all do our bit and I would urge residents to consider their use of single use plastics”

The ban will come into force on Saturday, 30 June. It will make it an offence to manufacture any rinse-off personal care products which contain plastic microbeads.  It will also be an offence to supply rinse-off personal care products which contain microbeads.

Joyce Watson is a member of the Assembly’s cross-party environment committee. Earlier this month she took part in a litter pick on Llandanwg beech in Gwynedd. At Assembly Question time on 12 June Joyce held up a bag of the rubbish she collected and called on public sector organisations to prioritise reducing plastic when they buy goods and services, as part of procurement contracts.