(Long Island, NY) Earlier this month, Suffolk County legislators voted unanimously to ban personal care products that contain microbeads due to the potential harm they cause to the environment.
The initiative, sponsored by Legislator Kara Hahn and Legislator Jay Schneiderman, institutes a local phase-out beginning January 2018 for personal care products not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and January 2019 for ones that are. Once signed, Suffolk will become the largest county in the state to pass a ban on microbeads.
Research shows that the beads soak up pesticides and chemicals while flowing from their source. The toxin-laden particles are often mistaken for food by small fish and other aquatic species, who consume and absorb the contaminants. Once in the system, these pollutants are recycled from smaller organisms to larger ones and eventually into the human food supply through consumption of contaminated organisms.
WHO:
- County Executive Steve Bellone
- Legislator Kara Hahn
- Legislator Sarah Anker
- Legislator William Spencer (invited)
- Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters
- Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment (invited)
WHEN:
- Monday, October 26th at 12:00 noon
WHERE:
- H. Lee Dennisoon Building
100 Veterans Memorial Highway
Hauppague, NY 11788
