A ban on personal care products containing microbeads is well overdue.

LISTEN ABOVE: Dr Michelle Dickinson from Auckland University spoke to Rachel Smalley on the Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Government's proposing to ban products containing the tiny plastic particles, which are used in some face-washers, toothpastes and body scrubs.

They're washed into waterways, where they can easily pick up pollutants, and are then consumed by marine life, and in turn eaten by us.

Auckland University's Dr Michelle Dickinson told Rachel Smalley microbeads pose a risk to human health, and to our marine industry.

"If we've got toxic substances in our shellfish that has a huge impact on New Zealand with our exports such as shellfish, mussels."

 

Dr Dickinson said cosmetic companies are already having to change their products, as countries like the US and the UK are banning microbeads.

"For Minister Smith it's great that he's making forward progress, but I feel like we're pretty far behind and many of the company will have changed what they're making before that ban for New Zealand comes into place. But I guess it's good that we're actually starting to make a move."

 

Associate Professor Mary Sewell of the School of Biological Sciences at Auckland University said these microbeads wash through our water filtration systems and end up at sea where they're consumed by plankton.

"And then those animals are eaten by fish and eventually those fish are eaten by use so the plastic is so small they can end up in our food chain and eventually end up in our food products."

Canterbury University researcher Dr Sally Gaw said people are trying to work out what are the health implications of having plastic in our sea food.

"But of course we're exposed to plastics in so many other places. Plastic is very prevalent in modern lifestyle, but it's very hard to work out whether that from seafood will be a larger problem that what we're already exposed to."