NY seeks ban on plastic microbeads used in cosmetics

New York state is seeking to become the first in the US to ban plastic microbeads commonly found in cosmetics, after the tiny plastic beads was found accumulating at "alarmingly high levels" in New York waterways.

Microbeads are commonly used as an abrasive in over 100 products, including facial scrubs, soaps, shampoo and toothpaste, CBS News reported.

The Microbead-Free Waters Act, which was introduced on Tuesday, will prohibit the production, manufacture, distribution and sale in New York of any beauty products, which contains plastic particles less than five millimeters in size.

When the microbeads wash down the drain, they wind up in sewer systems and their small size and buoyancy helps them escape sewage plants and be discharged in rivers, lakes and oceans.