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Reductions of Plastic Microbeads from Personal Care Products in Wastewater Effluents and Lake Waters Following Regulatory Actions
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This study tracked plastic microbead levels in Toronto wastewater and Lake Ontario before and after North American regulatory bans, finding that irregular polyethylene microbeads declined by up to 86% in wastewater effluents after the bans took effect, confirming that policy restrictions rapidly and effectively reduced plastic microbead pollution entering surface waters.
Plastic microbeads were widely used as exfoliants in personal care products (PCPs; e.g., hand/body washes) in North America, but restrictions were imposed on their use in PCPs in the U.S. (2017) and Canada (2018). We provide the first assessment of whether restrictions are effectively reducing microbeads entering surface waters. We examined their abundance, character, and trends in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents in Toronto, Canada, from 2016 to 2019, and in adjacent Lake Ontario surface waters (2015 and 2018), encompassing the period before and after the bans. Microbeads isolated from PCPs purchased in 2015 provided a visual morphological key with "irregular" and "spherical" microbead categories. Median concentrations of irregular microbeads, composed of polyethylene plastic, declined by up to 86% in WWTP effluents from 8.4 to 14.3 particles/m3 before to 2.0-2.2 particles/m3 after the bans, while those of spherical microbeads, predominantly synthetic/polyethylene wax, ranged within 0.5-2.3 particles/m3 and did not differ before and after the bans since, as nonplastic, they were not regulated. Similarly, amounts of irregular microbeads declined relative to spherical microbeads in Lake Ontario, indicating that product changes may be influencing observations in lake waters. The results suggest that the Canadian and U.S. restrictions effectively and rapidly reduced plastic microbeads entering waters via WWTPs.
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Plastic Microbead Accumulation in Our Freshwaters: North American Great Lakes Assessments and Perspectives
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This review synthesizes Great Lakes microbead research from before and after North American regulatory bans in 2017, finding that the bans substantially reduced microbead contamination — with one measure showing an 86% reduction in polyethylene microbead discharge from treatment plants. However, microbeads persist in lake sediments and continue entering from unregulated industrial sources. This shows that targeted regulations can work, but monitoring must continue to confirm long-term environmental recovery and close remaining loopholes.
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Researchers characterized the microbeads found in commercial facial exfoliating cleansers — measuring size, polymer type, and quantity — and estimated how many microbeads escape treatment at wastewater plants based on published removal data. The study provides a practical case for banning microbeads from personal care products to reduce plastic loading in freshwater systems.
Plastic Microbead Accumulation in our Freshwaters: North American Great Lakes Assessments and Perspectives
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Researchers reviewed plastic microbead contamination in North American freshwater systems including the Great Lakes, finding that despite Canada's 2018 ban on microbeads in personal care products, these particles persist due to their resistance to degradation and continued release from unregulated industrial sources.
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Using Ljubljana, Slovenia as a case study, researchers estimated how many polyethylene microbeads from cosmetics pass through a wastewater treatment plant and enter surface waters. The study found that even plants with high removal efficiency still release substantial numbers of microbeads, supporting the case for banning them from personal care products.
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