Greg Hunt Threatens Ban On Microbeads, Hates The Tiny Plastic Bastards

It seems like a bit of a paradox that as plastic waste gets smaller, it seems to mess up wildlife in increasingly terrible ways. Yet, that’s exactly what happens when the microbeads found in face scrubs and body washes flow down the drain, and those sprinkle-lookin’ bastards actually do a number on sea-life. 

Incidentally, “Best Minister In The World” Greg Hunt has a vested interest in said animals as part of his environmental portfolio, and today he issued an ultimatum to cosmetic companies that are still packing their products with the polyurethane pellets: quit it, ASAP, or they’ll be banned by law. 


“We will continue to work with companies towards a voluntary phase-out of microbeads. However, if by 1 July 2017 it is clear that the voluntary phase-out will not achieve what is effectively a widespread ban on microbeads, the Federal Government will take action to implement a ban in law.”
A number of firms have already pledged, exfoliated-hand-over-heart, that the use of microbeads will be curtailed. According to ABC, that number includes giants like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and L’Oreal, but Hunt is obviously not too chuffed with the industry’s drive to voluntarily eliminate microbeads by July 2018. 

The threat was announced at the same time the government pledged $60k to investigate new ways to reduce plastic waste in the water, which makes sense – we are girt by sea, and all that. In a statement, he wrote “every one of our favourite beaches and fishing spots is open to contamination by plastic waste and research suggests the problem is growing.”

Of course, this push comes after he helped green-light a coal port smack-bang next to the Great Barrier Reef, so it ain’t all sunshine and daisies. The United States is already moving to nix them, too. Still, putting the screws to companies who continue to literally flush known pollutants into the ocean is a fair dinkum thing to do. 

Source: ABC
Photo: YouTube. 

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