Remember microbeads? Those little plastic balls used in health and beauty products for some extra exfoliation? It turns out that, when washed away, the tiny beads go down the drain and may not get filtered, thus ending up in our lakes and oceans. They then may be mistaken for food by small fish and other wildlife—as if we weren’t already destroying the planet enough with plastic.
Luckily, certain regulations have been put into place, like the Microbead-Free Waters Act, which prohibits use of these small plastic pieces. The law put the environment at the forefront, though, and it clearly states it “does not address consumer safety, and we do not have evidence suggesting that plastic microbeads, as used in cosmetics, pose a human health concern.”
You may think that so long as you don’t consume plastic, you’re in the clear from all the negative effects different types of plastics may have on you. But you may still be unknowingly putting plastics on—and even in—your body.
