Ban Plastic Microbeads! (Story of Stuff Extra Credit Summary and Reflection)

The Story of Stuff video I watched was about banning plastic microbeads that take forever to decompose and are virtually impossible to clean up. Basically, companies put these microscopic pieces of plastic into cosmetics and toiletries because consumers find their texture satisfying. And because the microbeads are so small, they can’t be filtered out of the water at treatment plants. This results in the plastic ending up in the ocean, where fish and other animals mistakenly eat it, thinking that the beads are plankton. The beads also act “as a sponge for toxins” and concentrate poisonous substances that are harmful to living things. As the microbeads travel up the trophic pyramid and reach us, biomagnification occurs causing fish that we eat to have high levels of plastics and toxins.

Again, due to their small size, cleaning up is virtually impossible so prevention is the only solution. In numerous states including California, legislators are currently in the midst of passing laws that would ban the sale of products with microbeads. This doesn’t mean we won’t be able to use shampoo anymore, it just means that companies will be forced to switch to more environmentally friendly exfoliants if they want to continue selling to the 40 million people who live here.

I really liked this video because it explained what microbeads are, what their effect is, and what the solutions are, in an organized and interesting manner. They used really nice animations and were successful at portraying the large corporations as what they are: people who only care about money. However, it would have been nice if they went more into depth about topics like biomagnification and what brand lines to avoid.

I already check labels of shampoo and soap for things like parabens, pthalates, SLS and other possible carcinogens. Now I know to also look for things that are obviously plastic like polyethylene, polypropylene, and polymethyl methacrylate. By doing this, I will be voting with my dollar for environmentally friendly products. I will also feel more safe because who knows what kind of havoc plastic will wreak when it enters your body.

Watch the video here

Take action here

Watch another video about microplastics here