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 The law makes Wisconsin one of seven states including Illinois and
New Jersey to ban the tiny pieces of non-biodegradable plastic known
as microbeads, often used as an exfoliant in soaps and toothpaste.
It bans manufacturing of microbead products at the beginning of 2018
and their sale at the beginning of 2019.
Walker, a Republican, has said he will announce in mid-July whether
he will seek the party's nomination for the 2016 presidential
election.
“We’re elated to finally have the microbeads bill signed into law,”
said Amber Meyer Smith, director of government relations of Clean
Wisconsin.
Microbeads are so small they often slip through wastewater treatment
systems and end up in nearby waterways, according to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
In 2014, Illinois became the first state to ban microbeads after a
team of researchers with 5 Gyres Institute, a California-based
environmental group, found high levels of beads in 2012 from samples
taken at Lakes Erie, Superior and Huron. Scientists have also found
beads in the ocean.
Fish mistake microbeads for food and eat them, threatening the
ecosystem and human health, according to Clean Wisconsin.
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The Personal Care Products Council, a trade association representing
the cosmetics and personal care products industry, supports bans on
microbeads.
"We are guided by the core value to do the right thing based on the
best available science when addressing product safety or the
environmental impact of our products," the council said in a
statement after the Illinois bill was signed into law.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Mohammad
Zargham)
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