Up to 80 tons of plastic could enter the sea every year from everyday cosmetics and cleaning products in the UK, according to a study. Research has shown almost 100,000 tiny ‘microbeads’ – each a fraction of a millimetre in diameter – could be released in every single application of a cosmetic.

Scientists at Plymouth University said that due to their small size it was expected many would not be intercepted by conventional sewage treatment and were so released into rivers and oceans. They estimate this could result in up to 80 tons of microplastic waste entering the sea every year from use of these cosmetics in the UK alone.

Using these products leads to unnecessary contamination of the oceans

Microplastics have been used as bulking agents and abrasives to replace natural exfoliating materials in cosmetics. They are found in a variety of products such as hand cleansers, soaps, toothpaste, shaving foam, bubble bath, sunscreen and shampoo.

For this study, the researchers chose brands of facial scrubs which listed plastics among their ingredients and subjected them to vacuum filtration to obtain the plastic particles. Subsequent analysis using electron microscopy showed that every 150ml of cosmetic product could contain between 137,000 and 2.8 million microparticles.

Researcher Richard Thompson, who has been studying the effects of litter in the marine environment for over 20 years, said: “Our previous work has shown microplastics can be ingested by fish and shellfish and there is evidence from laboratory studies of adverse effects on marine organisms.”

The research paper, Characterisation, Quantity and Sorptive Properties of Microplastics Extracted From Cosmetics, has been published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.