Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

135. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to ban or highlight the effects of microbeads used in personal care products and biomedical research; the effects they are having on health and marine life; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35274/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Microbeads are one facet of the larger problem of marine litter. Marine litter is a key feature of national and international maritime environmental policy. It has been identified as an issue to be addressed under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. It is also specified as a harmful human activity under the OSPAR Treaty which addresses pollution and other human impacts on the North Eastern Atlantic Environment.

The marine litter problem is largely caused by poor waste management on land and at sea. Marine litter can be found in every aspect of the marine environment, and ranges in size from large objects such as fishing nets or shipping containers to micro-litter particles (defined as particles being smaller than 1 millimetre in size) such as fibres from artificial fabrics or microbeads. The fact that litter can move across marine borders with wind and currents means that no one country can solve the problem on its own. It needs an international approach.

However, the extent of the marine litter problem and the level of harm it causes to the environment are not fully understood at this time. Nonetheless, we are taking measures in co-operation with the EU and with our OSPAR partners to address this issue on the basis of the precautionary principle (i.e. that we should treat it as potentially harmful and respond accordingly while we develop our understanding of the actual harm it causes).

In conjunction with this, we are undertaking research to quantify the problem, identify the main sources or marine litter, establish the harm caused, and develop techniques to prevent, reduce and monitor marine litter levels. We are also working to raise awareness of this issue. For example I am supporting An Taisce with funding to develop a world leading module on marine litter as part of their excellent Green Schools’ programme. If this pilot programme is successful, it will be rolled out, not only throughout Ireland, but will be used as a model internationally.

Plastic is a particular problem for the marine environment. Due to its buoyancy, it can easily be washed down rivers, blown offshore or collected by the tide from the shore as well as being dumped or lost directly into the seas from ships and fishing boats. It does not biodegrade and remains in the environment for a very long time. It can breakdown into secondary micro-plastic particles through erosion and there is evidence that both large plastic items and microplastics are being ingested by marine organisms with undetermined consequences. Microplastics are also entering the marine environment in other forms such as microbeads in products.

In relation to microbeads specifically, it is estimated that they represent a small but significant portion of marine micro plastic pollution. It is hard to remove them from waste water which can flow via rivers and estuaries into the sea and once there, they are impossible to remove. There are many well established natural biodegradable and mineral alternatives and there is a widely held view that their societal value as a product is considerably less than their potential for environmental harm. In general it is considered that plastic microbeads used in cosmetics and body care products, such as exfoliating creams and body washes, as well as in detergents and surface cleaning agents, should, ultimately, be banned from use. However, for maximum impact, this would be best achieved at an EU-wide level. Accordingly Ireland supports, in principle, the ultimate introduction of a ban on micro-plastic beads from cosmetics and detergents across the EU.

However, a comprehensive consultation process needs to be undertaken, including key stakeholders in industrial sectors, environmental science, public health and the general public, to establish how best to achieve this and how quickly it can be done. It is also important that any such proposal should be clearly limited to cosmetics and detergents at this time to avoid possible unintended consequences of a blanket ban. For example, there are legitimate uses for micro-plastics in medical and veterinary pharmaceuticals and alternatives may not yet have been developed that are safe for general use.