Microbead policy a “good start” – Greenpeace urges Government to ban the bags.

Greenpeace is welcoming the Government’s latest announcement on microbeads as a good start.

The policy goes further than expected, widening the scope of banned products.

The new definition includes products such as body wash and toothpastes. It also includes anything that can be washed down stormwater drains, such as household cleaning products. However it doesn’t include makeup and that’s a miss.

The environmental organisation says the policy also falls short by not including “so-called” biodegradable microbeads, and nanoplastics, both potentially more toxic to marine life because of their minute size.

Greenpeace would encourage the Government to include these hazardous types of microbeads.

Research shows one in three turtles and thirty per cent of seabirds washed up dead on New Zealand’s shores have ingested single use plastics.

Off the back of this announcement Greenpeace is calling on the Government to take the next obvious step and ban the biggest offender in the oceans – supermarket plastic bags.

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