Microbeads

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER

DANIEL R. GARODNICK

4TH COUNCIL DISTRICT

Dear Friend,

Have you heard of microbeads? If not, you are not alone. Many New Yorkers use products with microbeads every day without knowing what they are, or the problems they cause.

Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic commonly found in facial creams, foaming scrubs, shampoos, and toothpastes — in fact, they appear in over 100 cosmetic products. Unfortunately, they are too small to to be filtered out by our water treatment plants, so when New Yorkers use these products to wash their face or brush their teeth, the microbeads go down the drain and right into our waterways. It is estimated that 19 tons of these microbeads get flushed into New York’s lakes, rivers and oceans every year.

Once there, they act as sponges for pesticides and other chemicals, adding to their toxicity. And when fish and other marine animals mistake them for food, these polluted microbeads pass into the food chain — and yes, that ultimately includes humans.

Today, I introduced a bill to prohibit the sale of plastic microbeads in personal care products in New York City. I was joined at my announcement at the Central Park Zoo by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has long been advocating for a ban on microbeads at the State level. You can read his report here.

You can also read more about our efforts to “ban the bead” in the New York Daily News, and lend your support to this effort by signing the petition here.

I hope you share my concerns about this issue, and I welcome your feedback.

Best,

Dan

District Office

211 East 43rd Street Suite 1205

New York, NY 10017

(212) 818 – 0580

Legislative Office

250 Broadway Suite 1762

New York, NY 10007

(212) 788 – 7393