Microbeads and glitter banned with immediate effect
The first EU regulation to curb microplastics recently came into force. Since then, small plastic beads in cosmetics and loose glitter are no longer available on the market. Further bans are to follow gradually over the next few years.
Creams and scrubs containing plastic microbeads have recently been banned from sale. Also no longer available: loose glitter, i.e. glitter dust, as used in nail salons, but also for carnival or Halloween costumes.
The ban on these products is the first in a series of EU-wide measures to help stem the global flood of microplastics. Over the next twelve years, "all synthetic polymer particles under five millimetres that are organic, insoluble and poorly degradable" will be gradually banned, the EU Commission has stated. The microplastics ban will then also affect other cosmetics and detergents as well as plastic granules for artificial turf pitches.
Plastic particles that are smaller than five millimetres count as microplastics. Such particles can be found all over the world today - they buzz as dust particles in the air or float in the oceans. According to estimates, the Atlantic Ocean alone is home to around 12 to 21 million tonnes of these tiny plastic particles in the upper layers of water, if you only count the three most important types of plastic: polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. Wind, ocean currents and microorganisms ultimately transport the cargo to the remotest regions of the earth. Teams led by marine researcher Melanie Bergmann from the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven have found large quantities of these tiny particles even in the Arctic ice. Tiny algae consume them there and transport the cargo to the deep sea after they die.
About 2.7 million tonnes of new microplastics every year
"According to OECD estimates, 2.7 million tonnes of microplastics are released into the environment worldwide every year," Martin Wagner from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology told "Spektrum". The biologist has been researching the effects of microplastics on ecosystems and organisms for years. However, the majority of the small plastic particles do not come from the skin cream we apply every day or a Halloween party with glitter make-up that got out of hand. Less than 0.5 per cent of microplastics in the environment come from cosmetics, the scientist continues. "That doesn't sound like much, but the EU estimates that the ban will result in 500,000 tonnes less microplastics being released into the environment." This assessment is shared by other experts. "The quantities of intended microplastics in cosmetics or detergents are rather small compared to tyre or textile abrasion," Ralf Bertling from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology Oberhausen told Science Media Center Deutschland (SMC). Intentional microplastics are those that manufacturers deliberately add to their products. The majority of microplastic particles in the environment come from larger pieces of plastic: they are produced when washing clothes containing synthetic fibres, when opening plastic bottles and food packaging, through tyre abrasion - and whenever plastic waste in the environment slowly but surely crumbles into smaller and smaller pieces due to wind, water, sun and mechanical stress. Every year, several million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the oceans.
Plants and animals absorb the particles from the air, water and soil. This can happen through the air we breathe, but also through food. A new study from 2023 estimates that an adult person ingests an average of around 14,000 microplastic particles via air, water and food.
It is not clear whether the tiny pieces of plastic are harmful to us. We excrete the majority of them undigested. However, research into the effects of microplastics on organisms is still in its infancy. Studies on plankton, for example, show that the tiny marine creatures grow more slowly when they consume microplastics. This is presumably due to the fact that they absorb fewer nutrients when they ingest plastic particles instead of real food. And as studies from 2023 show, microplastics change the microbial composition in the gut of seabirds: Harmful bacteria proliferate, while the number of beneficial microbes decreases.
Many ways in which microplastics could cause harm
There are therefore numerous ways in which microplastics could affect organisms. According to experts, size and shape play a role, as does the composition of the particles: Common plastics contain a wide variety of additives such as plasticisers, flame retardants, colour pigments and much more. In addition, environmental pollutants accumulate on the small fragments. In this way, a single particle can contain up to 100 different substances. If it enters an organism, it brings with it a load of potentially harmful substances, from toxins to endocrine disruptors, which have a hormone-like effect and can disrupt the metabolism.
Even though microbeads from cosmetics make up "only a negligible proportion of microplastic particles in the environment", as Carolin Völker and Johanna Kramm from the Institute for Social-Ecological Research in Frankfurt wrote in "Spektrum der Wissenschaft" in 2020, experts welcome the new EU-wide ban. "I consider the EU's ban on microplastics to be an important first step towards curbing plastic pollution," writes Martin Wagner and continues: Microbeads in cosmetics "make a small but manageable article in plastic pollution and bring us little benefit themselves". As the negative effects are not yet well understood, he advises us to act as a precautionary measure.
An important first step
"In my opinion, a ban on deliberately added microplastics will help to further reduce microplastic emissions into the environment," says Bertling. There are already enough alternatives for cosmetics in particular, such as sand, ground fruit stones or coffee grounds. And even if the explicit ban on glitter particles may seem symbolic at first glance: British researchers had already called for this in 2017.
In order to really get the flood of small plastic particles under control, however, the increasing amount of plastic waste must be tackled. An international committee is currently negotiating a global plastics agreement. "The world has a major problem with macroplastics, which release microplastics and chemicals. Plastic production also contributes significantly to the climate crisis," says Wagner. He therefore hopes for a strong set of rules: "If the agreement succeeds in achieving a turnaround towards sustainable plastic use without harmful chemicals, this would be very welcome from a scientific point of view."
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Cover image: Shutterstock / Victoria Shapiro / Loose glitter is a microplastic and will be banned in the EU in future, just like tiny plastic beads in creams and scrubs.
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