The Senate voted unanimously to approve the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 Friday and have it be sent to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.
The bill, first introduced in the House in March, bans production and sale of synthetic microbeads in rinse-off cosmetic products and over-the-counter drugs in coming years.
According to the bill, the manufacture of cosmetic products, such as soaps and facial cleansers that contain microbeads, will be banned on July 1, 2017 and their sale will be prohibited on July 1, 2018. Over the counter drugs that contain plastic microbeads will no longer be allowed to be manufactured starting July 1, 2018 and their sale will be banned on July 1, 2019.
Read more from the New Haven Register.