Plastic “Microbead” Ban In Illinois Likely Just The First

Illinois has passed a law that will ban the manufacture and sale of plastic microbeads in personal care products. Microbeads are tiny non-biodegradable particles that are too small to be filtered out by conventional waste water treatment and end up accumulating in waterways and oceans. The Illinois law could be “the start of a trend that dramatically impacts the cosmetics and personal care products industries,” writes Paul Hastings attorney Adam Reich. Currently New York and California are both considering similar legislation. The Illinois law exempts prescription drugs from the ban, presumably because of the potential preemption issue that it would raise. Meanwhile, the broader issue of plastic pollution and the emergence of the “Plasticene Epoch” was the subject of an editorial in last Sunday’s New York Times.