New York could become the first state to ban the super-tiny bits of plastic that have been quietly added to more than 100 beauty and personal-care products and pose a potential threat to the food chain.
Microbeads, as they’re known, are so small there are about 350,000 of them in a single tube of facial scrub — and they are so prevalent that there are tens of millions already in the Great Lakes, scientists said.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman proposed legislation Tuesday to ban microbeads from items like soaps and toothpaste. Microbeads are so small many get past water-treatment plants.