--- title: The Problem With Exfoliating Facial Wash description: A report published by the U.N. Environment Programme reveals that plastic waste is increasingly becoming a financial burden canonical: https://time.com/2916132/microbeads-microplastic-cosmetics-illinois-ban/ author: Melissa Hellmann article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-24T07:12:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:55:32.092Z og:title: The Problem With Exfoliating Facial Wash og:description: A report published by the U.N. Environment Programme reveals that plastic waste is increasingly becoming a financial burden og:url: https://time.com/2916132/microbeads-microplastic-cosmetics-illinois-ban/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3908cca54ec0171b/698698ed13c79fdb8c192c6a/ap882557273289.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4608 og:image:height: 2592 og:image:alt: Great Lakes Plastic Pollution og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Problem With Exfoliating Facial Wash twitter:description: A report published by the U.N. Environment Programme reveals that plastic waste is increasingly becoming a financial burden twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3908cca54ec0171b/698698ed13c79fdb8c192c6a/ap882557273289.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Illinois Bans Cosmetics Containing Microbeads > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jun 24, 2014 7:12 AM UTC  In this July 2013 photo provided by the State University of New York at Fredonia, Sherri Mason, right, a New York environmental scientist who led a research team studying microplastics in the Great Lakes, examines a trawling device used to collect plastic “microbeads” from the water's surface with University of Buffalo student Shayne McKay In this July 2013 photo provided by the State University of New York at Fredonia, Sherri Mason, right, a New York environmental scientist who led a research team studying microplastics in the Great Lakes, examines a trawling device used to collect plastic “microbeads” from the water's surface with University of Buffalo student Shayne McKayAP by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jun 24, 2014 7:12 AM UTC Illinois has become the first American state to [ban cosmetics containing microplastics](http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25773-why-illinois-has-banned-exfoliating-face-washes.html#.U6kR3iQVrTq). The move has been taken in response to growing concern over the marine damage caused by plastic waste, which a report [published](http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2791&ArticleID=10903&l=en) recently by the U.N. Environment Programme puts at $13 billion or more annually. Among the products that will be removed from Illinois shelves are several brands of exfoliating face wash. While natural versions of this popular product use the likes of oatmeal or ground kernels as an exfoliant, cheap commercial varieties use nonbiodegradable plastic beads, known as microbeads. One average-sized tube can hold thousands of them. Because of their size — less than a millimeter across — microbeads are not sifted out from wastewater during the sewage-treatment process, but instead end up being released into large bodies of water, like the Great Lakes, where they cause irreparable harm. One California-based institute found almost 470,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer of the Great Lakes, and most of them (81%) were microbeads. Fish and birds think the beads are food and end up eating them, often with lethal consequences. New York, Ohio and California are expected to follow Illinois’s lead. According to a report [released](http://ag.ny.gov/pdfs/Microbeads%5FReport%5F5%5F14%5F14.pdf) by New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman, 19 tons of microbeads are released into New York wastewater annually. New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone meanwhile [introduced](http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-introduces-legislation-ban-use-plastic-microbeads-cosmetics) a proposal in mid-June, the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2014, that would ban the creation and sale of products that contain microbeads nationwide by 2018\. “By phasing out the use of plastic microbeads and transitioning to non-synthetic alternatives, we can protect U.S. waters before it’s too late,” Pallone wrote. In the meantime, consumers wanting to help reduce the impact of this insidious pollutant can download an [app](http://get.beatthemicrobead.org/#sthash.M9zPl1uU.dpuf) called Beat the Microbead, which allows you to check whether or not a product contains the miniscule plastic balls. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2916132/microbeads-microplastic-cosmetics-illinois-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2916132/microbeads-microplastic-cosmetics-illinois-ban/"},"headline":"Illinois Bans Cosmetics Containing Microbeads","datePublished":"2014-06-24T07:12:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:32.092Z","description":"Those tiny little beads in your exfoliating cleanser? 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