Canada Bans the Bead

In June 2014,  Surfrider Vancouver ran a campaign called “Ban the Bead,” Canada’s first campaign against microbeads. We encouraged the public to sign and share a petition against the use of these small plastic microbeads in consumer products. Our volunteers reached out to officials at the CIty of Vancouver and the BC Ministry of Environment regarding the issue. 

In February 2015, the New Democratic Party proposed that microbeads be considered toxic at the federal level.

On March 24, 2015, the House of Commons unanimously passed a resolution to add microbeads to Canada’s List of Toxic Substances. Environment Canada, the government agency responsible for coordinating environmental policies and programs aimed at preserving and enhancing the natural environment, was also mandated to complete a review on microbeads.

This has resulted in legislation being enacted that prohibits the manufacture and import of toiletries that contain microbeads as of January 2018. July 2019 saw the prohibition expanded to natural health products and non-prescription drugs that contain microbeads.