House passes Microbead-Free Waters Act

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, aimed at phasing out synthetic plastic microbeads from personal care and OTC products. Now the bill will move to the Senate for consideration. 

 

Following the bill’s passage, Scott Melville, president and CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), praised the work of its sponsors, Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J, and Fred Upton, R-Mich. 

 

“The OTC medicine industry applauds Representatives Pallone and Upton for shepherding legislation that sets forth feasible phase-out dates for plastic microbeads in OTC products, appropriate definitions of key terms, and ensuring uniform enforcement across the nation,” Melville said. 

 

He added that the removal of mircrobeads from products is a priority for the industry. 

 

“Our industry takes concerns about these solid plastic microbeads possibly entering the marine environment very seriously, and we are committed to reformulating cosmetic OTCs – such as acne face washes and toothpastes – to remove plastic microbeads,” he said. “CHPA member companies have already taken steps to voluntarily remove these solid plastic microbeads from their products by ceasing the development of any new products containing synthetic plastic microbeads and working toward formulating replacement products. The timeframe allocated in this bill provides manufacturers adequate time to identify and phase in alternatives.”