Call on Crawley shops to end the sale of '˜danger' microbead products

The microbeads - tiny pieces of plastic - are contained in a number of cosmetics and cleaning products and can cause harm to the environment and wildlife.

Now a plea to shops in Crawley to end the sale of such products has gone out from Crawley Councillor Geraint Thomas.

Councillor Thomas, cabinet member for environmental services and sustainability at Crawley Borough Council, issued the plea following recommendations of a ban from the Environmental Audit Committee to the Government.

Microbeads are small enough to pass through water filtration plants and end up in lakes, rivers and the oceans.

Marine creatures easily ingest the plastic beads and the particles then get stuck in their stomachs, where they can be toxic in large quantities.

Humans can also eat them when eating shellfish.

Councillor Thomas said: “I have written this letter to express my concern about the possible sale of cosmetics containing plastic microbeads in Crawley shops.

“I’m concerned about the impact these tiny pieces of plastic are having on the aquatic environment and the food chain and I sincerely hope that producers stop producing them and retailers stop selling products containing them.

“Residents can also approach retailers to ask about this issue or simply choose products without microbeads.”

Plastic microbeads in found in a number of bathroom products such as exfoliating scrubs, toothpaste and shaving gel.