What are micro-beads and how are they harmful for the ocean?

Do you wash your face with an exfoliating face scrub? Brush your teeth with some smooth tiny particles present in toothpaste? Unfortunately then, you may have unknowingly contributed to pollute the oceans and other water bodies.

Micro-beads are tiny pieces of plastics which are present in many beauty products. Those fancy advertisements that make you believe such products are good for you is a big lie. A microbead is generally defined by its size, they are typically 0.5 to 500 micrometres in diameter. Due to small in size we often neglect them without knowing that there’s already tonnes of plastic swirling around our beautiful oceans and these tiny particles contribute tonnes of plastic in the oceans every year.

Microbeads are tiny, and may seem harmless, but 100,000 microbeads are washed down the sink with a single application of some products, ending up in the sea and the food chain. Such particles eventually go into the stomachs of seabirds, whales, turtles and other marine life. They are so small that they are unable to be filtered by our sewage systems and pollute our oceans no end.