[Pharmwaste] RE: Wisconsin adopts ban on microbeads

[Catherine Zimmer]

Thanks for the inside story, Ed.  I wondered why these "bans" were passing
so easily.  Jen V.  do you have the language of the bill passed here in MN? 

 

Very truly yours,

 

Catherine Zimmer, MS, BSMT

Zimmer Environmental Improvement, LLC

Reducing and managing healthcare related waste and costs for fifteen years.


St. Paul, MN 

Ph:  651.645.7509

 <mailto:zenllc at usfamily.net> zenllc at usfamily.net

 

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Ed Gottlieb
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2015 1:50 PM
To: Bickford, Barbara J - DNR (Barb); pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] RE: Wisconsin adopts ban on microbeads

 

In signing the ban on plastic microbeads in personal care products (PCP),
Governor Walker showed his support of the plastics and cosmetics industries
and his lack of concern for the environment and human health.

The movement to ban microbeads in PCP is primarily driven by their ability
to collect and concentrate pharmaceuticals and other pollutants which then
enter the food chain when the beads are eaten by aquatic organisms.  In
response to the ban the bead movement, the plastics industry has been
successfully pushing state legislatures to adopt bans using wording that
they wrote rather than wording promoted by environmental groups.  The
industry version has two provisions that make it very objectionable to
anyone wanting an effective ban.  It is the plastics industry version that
Governor Walker just signed into law.

The law [http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/related/acts/43] only applies
to, "non-biodegradable, solid plastic" [299.50 Sec 1(e)].  With
"non-biodegradable" left undefined, it can, and will, be argued that the
plastics used (or the bio-polymers they could switch to) are biodegradable.
But, under what conditions do they biodegrade?  

It has been reported that the biodegradable plastics now available require
composting at high temperatures to break down.  They do not biodegrade in
the natural environment.  California is now considering a ban on
biodegradable microbeads in PCP!  For a detailed explanation of this point,
read these recent stories:  

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/01/28/3612216/environmentalists-pan-micro
beads.html

http://www.theguardian.com/vital-signs/2015/jun/08/california-microbead-ban-
bioplastic-story-of-stuff-water  

The Wisconsin law also includes an industry written ban on local communities
enacting legislation [Sec 4].  "A political subdivision may not enact an
ordinance or adopt a resolution concerning the manufacture, sale, or
distribution of products containing synthetic plastic microbeads."

This law is a total win for the manufactures and polluters, allowing them to
continue their activities while locking out effective local legislation.

When your state legislators consider a ban on plastic microbeads in PCP,
please be sure to lobby for a bill that does not include the
non-biodegradable loop-hole or a ban on local action.  Thanks!

Ed Gottlieb
Chair, Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal

Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator

Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
525 3rd Street

Ithaca, NY  14850

(607) 273-8381

fax: (607) 273-8433

  _____  

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] on behalf of Bickford, Barbara J
- DNR (Barb) [Barbara.Bickford at wisconsin.gov]
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2015 6:31 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Wisconsin adopts ban on microbeads

Wisconsin adopts ban on microbeads

 

Wisconsin is the seventh state to ban microbeads in personal care products.
On Wednesday, Governor Walker signed bipartisan legislation that bans the
manufacturing of microbead products at the beginning of 2018 and their sale
one year later.  
http://news.yahoo.com/wisconsin-governor-walker-signs-bill-banning-microbead
s-002857108--sector.html

 

Barb Bickford
Medical Waste Coordinator and Hydrogeologist

Waste and Materials Mgt/AWaRe Division
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
101 S. Webster St., PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921
Phone: 608-267-3548
Fax: 608-267-2768
barbara.bickford at wisconsin.gov

 

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