{"id":85952,"date":"2017-01-19T21:12:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T02:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=85952"},"modified":"2017-01-19T21:15:59","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T02:15:59","slug":"miss-u-candidates-asked-to-lend-their-voices-to-save-the-oceans-from-microplastic-pollution-ecowaste-coalition-urges-beauty-queens-to-junk-cosmetics-containing-plastic-microbeads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/01\/19\/miss-u-candidates-asked-to-lend-their-voices-to-save-the-oceans-from-microplastic-pollution-ecowaste-coalition-urges-beauty-queens-to-junk-cosmetics-containing-plastic-microbeads\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss U Candidates asked to lend their voices to save the oceans from Microplastic pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Miss<\/a>
Miss U Candidates Asked to Lend Their Voices to Save the Oceans from
Microplastic Pollution
(Photo by Joey O. Razon\/PNA<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Re:\u00a0(EcoWaste Coalition Urges Beauty Queens to\u00a0 Junk Cosmetics Containing Plastic Microbeads)<\/p>\n

Quezon City\u2014As the 65th Miss Universe beauty pageant slated in the Philippines nears, a local environmental group urged candidates from around the world not to use or endorse personal care and cosmetic products (PCCPs) containing plastic microbeads, a global ocean pollutant.<\/p>\n

Through a press statement, the EcoWaste Coalition, a waste and pollution watch group, asked pageant contenders to lend their voices to amplify the mounting demand to protect the oceans and aquatic life from the adverse effects of microplastic pollution.<\/p>\n

Plastic microbeads and other plastic ingredients are used in varying proportions in a variety of\u00a0 PCCPs such as exfoliating scrub, facial cleanser, shower gel and toothpaste, to name a few.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s beauty queens are known advocates for environmental, health, humanitarian and cultural causes.\u00a0 As known consumers and promoters of PCCPs, we call upon them to add the removal of microplastics in PCCPs in their list of advocacy issues for a healthier planet,\u201d said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator,\u00a0 EcoWaste Coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy taking a stance in favor of plastic microbead-free PCCPs, beauty queens could sway manufacturers to voluntarily replace microplastics with biodegradable exfoliating agents that will pose no risk to ocean health,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA wide array of people speaking out against plastic microbeads could also motivate regulators to act,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), \u201cfor the last 50 years, microparticles of plastic, called microplastics, have been used in PCCPs, replacing natural options in a large number of cosmetic and personal care formulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWashed down the drain, those particles cannot be collected for recycling, nor do they decompose in wastewater treatment facilities, inevitably ending up in the global ocean, where it fragments and remains,\u201d UNEP said.<\/p>\n

Last year, researchers from RMIT University in Australia and Hainan University in China revealed \u201cthat up to 12.5 percent of the chemical pollutants on the microbeads can pass into the fish that eat them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese extremely tiny plastic particles from PCCPs can act like sponge, absorbing toxic pollutants in the oceans, which are ultimately ingested by fish and other aquatic animals who mistake microbeads for food,\u201d Lucero said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlastic microbeads from PCCPs are aggravating the alarming \u2018plasticization\u2019 of our oceans,\u201d she pointed out.<\/p>\n

According to UNEP, over 299 million tonnes of plastic were produced worldwide in 2013 some of which made its way to our oceans, costing approximately US$13 billion per year in environmental damage to marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce in the ocean, plastic does not go away: it fragments, eventually breaking down into \u00a0smaller pieces known as secondary microplastics,\u201d UNEP said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking action now against plastic microbeads in PCCPs,\u00a0 reducing plastic bag use and preventing the spillage of plastic waste into the oceans are essential steps that must be undertaken to stem the tide of microplastic pollution, which could have a devastating impact to ocean health and food security, especially in fish-eating nations like the Philippines,\u201d the EcoWaste Coalition said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the EcoWaste Coalition, in observance of the Zero Waste Month, will submit a letter to the Department of Health and the Food and DrugAdministration urging the government to prohibit the production, importation, distribution and sale of PCCPs containing plastic microbeads within a reasonable timeframe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Re:\u00a0(EcoWaste Coalition Urges Beauty Queens to\u00a0 Junk Cosmetics Containing Plastic Microbeads) Quezon City\u2014As the 65th Miss Universe beauty pageant slated …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":85965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5927,1145,16,95],"tags":[12069,4982,13963,13964],"class_list":["post-85952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment-nature","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-ecowaste-coalition","tag-miss-universe","tag-personal-care-and-cosmetic-products","tag-united-nations-environment-programme","mauthors-ecowaste-coalition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}