Microbeads ban announced by Government

The Government will ban the sale and manufacture of plastic microbeads, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today.

The ban follows through on the plans of the previous Government, which had indicated a ban would be introduced and take effect by May 2018, and Ardern acknowledged this work in her post-cabinet press conference this afternoon.

Cabinet approved regulation to ban microbeads today. It will come into force in six months.

Microbeads are considered a menace to aquatic and marine environments as they can pass through filter systems. They are too small to retrieve or recycle, do not biodegrade, and marine life eat them causing long-term damage.

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Environment Government