The joy of
letting go
DISCOVER
WATER THERAPY
Immerse yourself in a world
of sensory delightreece.com.au/bathroomsADVICE HG
AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN|1 5
The greenhouse
MICRO MATTERS
N
ext time you open the bathroom
cabinet to reach for an exfoliant,
take a moment to read the label
and check whetherthe product contains
microbeads, the minuscule pieces of
plastic that wreak havoc on waterways.
“It may have a natural-sounding name,
but look for any mention of polyethylene
(PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), polymethyl
methacrylate (PMMA) or nylon,”
says Jon Dee. Dee is the managing
director of not-for-profit environmental
advocacy group DoSomething, which
has led the campaign in Australia to ban
the sale of products with microbeads.
Scrubs aside, microbeads, or
microplastics as they’re also known,
can be found in toothpaste and other
personal-care products. And they all
end up down the drain, which is where
the problem begins. “These pieces of
plastic are just millimetres in size, which
means they’re not captured at water-
treatment facilities. And they end up in
our rivers, bays and oceans,” says Dee.
“In 2014, scientists found 60-100
particles of plastic micro debris in
100mg of sediment in areas of SydneyHarbour. This is, unfortunately, one of
the highest levels in the world.”
And the problem doesn’t stop at
pollution. Once microbeads are in the
sea they can also, alarmingly, enter the
food chain. “The health implications
should be of great concern to all of us,”
says Dee.
Following the lead of other nations
(the UK announced plans for a ban in
September), the Australiangovernment
has called on cosmetics companies and
retailers to comply with a voluntary
phase-out of microbeads. If they remain
on the market by mid-2017, the
government will bring in legislation
banning the sale of all such products.
“The major cosmetics companies
have said they’ll stop making and selling
products with microbeads, and so have
big supermarkets,” says Dee.
To avoid inadvertently buying
products containing microplastics,
check the list of products that have
these ingredients at http://www.beatthe
microbead.org. Or download the free
Beat The Microbead app, which lets you
scan barcodes and to see whether or not
a product contains microbeads. #Tinypieces ofplastic have no place in our cosmetics,
waterways or food chain, writesSarah Pickette.Photograph by Elouise van Riet-Gray/bauersyndication.com.au.