Taking Microbeads straight to No10!

Posted by Fiona Nicholls — 9 June 2016 at 2:27pm - Comments
312,239 signatures on the microbeads petition
All rights reserved. Credit: David Mirzoeff / Greenpeace

Yesterday, on a rainy summer’s day we took the petition urging David Cameron to ban microbeads to Number 10 Downing Street, complete with 312,239 of YOUR signatures!<--break->

Since the petition opened at the beginning of this year, there has been an enormous groundswell of support for this campaign to ban microbeads, with 10,000 people adding their name to the petition in the last week alone!

What's so sinister about microbeads and why do over 300k people care?

Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic (aka microplastics) that are added to everyday cosmetic products like facewash, toothpaste and abrasive cleaners. They are so small that our filtration systems can't capture them and they end up in the oceans, polluting the environment and moving up the food chain. The latest studies have even shown juvenile fish choosing microplastics over their natural food sources. Scientists described baby fish eating microplastics 'like teens eating fast food'!

The petition, created in collaboration with the Environmental Investigation AgencyFauna & Flora International, and the Marine Conservation Society, calls on David Cameron to ban microbeads, joining other world leaders like President Obama and the Canadian Prime Minister who’ve already banned companies from using these wholly unnecessary bits of plastic.

Now we wait to hear the PM's response, but with this many voices how can he ignore us?

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