Toiletries containing plastic microbeads are now illegal for sale in Canada.

The law came into effect on July 1, 2019. This follows a ban on manufacture and import of these products that came into force on July 1, 2018. Natural health products and non-prescription drugs that contained microbeads were exempt from the 2018 rule, but are now also illegal for sale, effective July 1.

Target products include bath and body products, skin cleaners, toothpaste, and the like containing “any plastic particle equal to or less than 5mm in size.”

The Microbeads in Toiletries Regulations began in an effort to protect Canadian waterways. Microbeads less than the 5mm noted above cannot be filtered out by water-treatment systems, and end up contaminating the country’s lakes and rivers.

Canadian Retailer magazine has a good read on the topic; you can also learn more about the regulations here.

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