SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Thursday requiring California to phase out the use of microscopic exfoliating beads in personal care products sold in the state starting in 2020 to protect fish and wildlife.
The tiny plastic beads found in soap, toothpaste and body washes are so small that they are showing up in the bodies of fish and other wildlife after passing through water filtration systems without disintegrating.
A number of companies are replacing microbeads with natural substances such as ground-up fruit pits.
California lawmakers have attempted similar legislation before, but they met opposition from personal-care product companies.
Amendments to the measure this year prompted many business critics to drop their opposition to California joining several other states in eliminating the so-called microbeads.
The microbead ban was one of several pieces of legislation Brown signed Thursday in response to concerns about environmental degredation.
And Brown announced signing legislation requiring cities and counties to create a faster process to approve new charging stations, in an effort to address a patchwork of state regulations.
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