ON.15.01 Ban the Use of Plastic Microbeads in Personal Care Products E&H

1 1ON.15.01 Ban the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products E&H 2 3Whereas, Water is the lifeblood of the environment and water quality is a matter of urgent concern 4 to all Canadians; and 5 6Whereas, Microbeads are non-biodegradable solid plastic particles that are used in cosmetics, 7 soaps, or similar products as cleansing or exfoliating agents; and 8 9Whereas, Scientists have identified plastic microbeads as a major source of plastic pollution in the 10 Great Lakes; therefore be it 11 12Resolved, That Ontario provincial council of The Catholic Women’s League of Canada, in 68th 13 annual convention assembled urge the provincial government to ban the use of plastic 14 microbeads in personal care products to protect the environment and all water from 15 contamination; and be it further 16 17Resolved, That Ontario provincial council of The Catholic Women’s League of Canada, in 68th 18 annual convention assembled request national council of The Catholic Women’s League 19 of Canada to urge the federal government to ensure all provinces/and territories ban the 20 use of plastic microbeads in personal care products to protect the environment and all 21 water from contamination; and be it further 22 23Resolved, That this resolution be forwarded to national council of The Catholic Women’s League 24 of Canada for consideration at 95th annual national convention assembled, August 2015. 25 26

Gifted from the Ontario Provincial Council

2 3 27Ban the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products E&H 28Brief 29Plastics surround us. A vital manufacturing ingredient for nearly every existing industry, these 30materials appear in a high percentage of the products we use every day. Although modern life would 31be hard to imagine without this versatile chemistry, products composed of plastics also have a dark side 32- their durability and longevity (Gaikwad 2011). 33 34Scientists have identified plastic microbeads from hand cleansers, body washes, deodorants, 35toothpastes, and a number of cosmetics like face exfoliates and eye shadow, as a major source of 36plastic pollution in the Great Lakes (Froklage et al, 2013 p.8). “It’s certainly no surprise that the Great 37Lakes are polluted, what with an estimated 37 million people living around them. However, the 38majority of that pollution apparently does not come from industrial runoff, but instead from our 39bathroom sinks” (Sutherland, 2013). 40 41The problem is microplastic pollution in the products we use every day to clean our faces, bodies, hair 42and teeth. These products contain approximately 330,000 microbeads per tube, and it all washes down 43our drains and into our lakes (CBC News July 2013). Unfortunately, these little microbeads are so 44miniscule that they flow through the screens at the waste treatment plants, especially during heavy 45rainfalls when sewers overflow and untreated sewage escapes (U.S. Department of Commerce/National 46Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Ocean Service/U.S. Office of Response and 47Restoration 2013). They wind up in the lakes, where fish and aquatic birds might eat them, mistaking 48them for fish eggs (Wiesman 2007). Ingestion can also expose organisms to harmful chemicals that are 49either leached from the plastic or adsorbed onto it (Froklage et al, 2013 p.15). 50 51Microplastics have the potential to persist in the environment, travel long distances, attract organic 52contaminants, and serve as substrate for organisms, thereby facilitating invasive species transport. 53Thus, there is cause for a thorough approach to determining the risk microplastics pose to the 54environment. 55 56Dr. Sherri Mason, a chemistry and biochemistry professor and coordinator of Fredonia’s 57Environmental Sciences Program, in collaboration with the 5 Gyres Institute, led the first survey of 58plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. “They discovered a ‘plastic graveyard’ of debris about 50 meters 59off Middle Bay beach – an algae growth a couple of meters wide mixed with a plethora of plastic 60waste” (Mantai 2012). 61 62In The Canadian Press news article, Dr. Mason stated, “Pressuring companies to phase out 63microplastics quickly in favour of biodegradable abrasives such as grape and apricot seeds is the best 64way to deal with the problem. Because of their size and wide distribution, there’s no practical way to 65remove the particles from the lakes” (Flesher 2013). 66 67“Even though you cannot see them, they pose a very real threat to human and wildlife health,” said 68Mayor John Dickert of Racine (WI) Secretary Treasurer of the Cities Initiative (Great Lakes and St. 69Lawrence Cities Institute 2013). 70 71“ Water is the most essential constituent needed for sustaining life on earth. By polluting this 72necessity we are posing a serious threat to Mother Nature and to our very own existence” 73(Shandilya,2013).

4 5 ON.15.01 Ban the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products E&H

Works Cited

CBC.ca. Facial Scrubs polluting Great Lakes with Plastic. July, 2013. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/facial-scrubs-polluting-great-lakes- with-plastic-1.1327850

Davis Mantai, C. SUNY Fredonia leads the first ever survey of Plastic Pollution in the Great Lakes. August, 2012. http://alumni.fredonia.edu/Magazine/SearchArticles/tabid/188/ID/356/SUNY- Fredonia-leads-the-first-ever-survey-of-Plastic-Pollution-in-the-Great-Lakes.aspx

Flesher, J. The Associated Press. Group representing 100 Great Lakes cities calls for action on ‘microplastics.’ October, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/29/group-representing-100- gr_n_4174797.html

Froklage, R., Lant, C., Misbah, A., O’Leary, E., Payton, E. Assessing and Mitigating Plastic Pollution in Lake Huron. The Lake Huron Centre for Costal Conservation by Hydra Horizons Consulting. April, 2012. http://lakehuron.ca/index.php? page=plastic-pollution-in-lake-huron

Gaikwad, Amruta. Buzzle.com. Effects of Plastic Pollution. September, 2011. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-plastic-pollution.html

Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Institute - Press Release Mayors Press for Action on Microplastics. October, 2013. http://www.glslcities.org/initiatives/ microplastics/5%20-20Press%20Release%20 GLSLCI%20Microplastics.pdf

Shandilya, R. Buzzle.com. Facts About Water Pollution. March, 2013. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-water-pollution.html

Sutherland, S. Geekquinox. Great Lakes polluted with facial scrubs and toothpaste. August, 2013. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/geekquinox/great-lakes-polluted- facial-scrub-microbeads-135239606

U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/ National Ocean Service/ U.S. Office of Response and Restoration The Search for Microplastics: From Face Scrubs to the Sea. October, 2013. http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/search-microplastics-face-scrubs- sea.html

University of Wisconsin Superior/News and Events/. Great Lakes research continues for Dr. Lorena Rios Mendoza. August, 2013. http://www.uwsuper.edu/news/great- lakes-research-continues-for-dr-lorena-rios-mendoza_news1523830

6 7 ON.15.01 Ban the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products E&H

Wiesman, A. Polymers Are Forever Orion Magazine. May/June, 2007. http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/270

Additional material researched but not cited in the Brief

Burande, A. Buzzle.com Causes of Water Pollution. February, 2013. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/causes-of-water-pollution.html

74ON.15.01 Ban the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products E&H 75 Action Plan

 Write letters to the manufacturers of products containing microbeads urging them to discontinue their use and switch to biodegradable abrasives.

 Become knowledgeable about the effect of plastic microbeads and how they can contaminate water.

 Beware of products using plastic microbeads and avoid buying products that contain the words polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephlatate (PET), or polymethacrylate (PMMA) in their ingredients.

 Choose products that do not contain plastic and choose products that use natural exfoliates such as walnut shells, almonds, grape seeds, sugar, oatmeal and sea salt.

 Invite a speaker from your community dealing with health and/or environmental issues concerning plastic microbeads in Ontario rivers, streams and the Great Lakes.

 Write letters to Provincial ministers of health and environment urging protection of Ontario’s water, as well as enact legislation, to ensure that plastic microbeads are removed from personal care products by the manufacturer.

 Write letter to the Ontario Dental Association and Ontario Medical Association to learn their stance on the use of micorbeads 76