Common responses we get from talking about this issue are well why don't we just make smaller filters at the treatment plants? and why do we even care about this? Well, to that I say that usually when we try to use technology to mitigate systemic problems it can cause separate but equal problems in its own right, and in this case is extremely expensive. No, microbeads haven't specifically proven to be harmful, but why is the burden of proof of that on the consumer. Shouldn't it be the industry's responsibility to prove that they are safe for us to use?
If you are inspired by this article, as I originally was when I read about Plastic Tides in the inaugural issue of this magazine, then follow their journeys on social media, @plastictides on instagram, www/facebook.com/plastictides and at their website www.plastictides.org. Coming up on their radar is a cross country trip to raise awareness about single use plastics culminating in a documentary, and their annual SUP race around Bermuda, situated smack in the middle of the Mid Atlantic Gyre. Please, Don't Ride the Plastic Tide.
Note: Microbead legislation just passed in the house: Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015. This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ban cosmetics that contain synthetic plastic microbeads beginning on January 1, 2018.
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