Products containing microbeads can no longer be imported or manufactured in Canada.
However, there is a grace period until July when products will have to come off the shelves.
Ariel Smith, Marine Debris Project coordinator with Bluenose Coastal Action Centre, says Canada is a little behind other countries but it’s still good news.
“They were declared a toxic substance last year so it’s good to see Canada is taking the additional steps to actually get those microbeads off of the shelves and out of products.”
She says microbeads, which are intentionally placed in products for various purposes, as well as microplastics, plastics which have degraded over time and become smaller, are a problem for marine life.
“Fish are eating microplastics and that can have a range of different impacts, that could fill up their stomach, they’re unable to feed on actual food and they could have early death because of that.”
Smith says that humans could also be ingesting plastic.
The centre recently started a research project on microplastics which will span three years.
They, along with partners in Newfoundland and New Brunswick, will collect data on microplastics, including microbeads, found in the Atlantic Ocean.
The action centre will collect data from the mouth of the Lahave River during th study.
