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Dolphin in Brazil helping with fishing illustration

Dolphins and fishers working together

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Gray whale (eschrichtius robustus) Gray whale in Ojo de liebre lagoon Baja California.

Why we’re walking for whales to save the world

We've got enormous ambitions when it comes to fighting climate breakdown, and so two members...
Dolphins with keepers in the new Windsor Safari Park. Image: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo

Three decades on from UK’s last dolphin show, what needs to change?

The UK hasn't had captive whales and dolphins on display for 30 years, but it's...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...
Whale evolution cover

How did whales end up living in the ocean?

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Fishers chatting

Scottish fishers working with us to reduce risks to whales

Small changes to fishing gear could make a big difference to whales around Scotland, and...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
tins of whale meat

How Japan’s whaling industry is trying to convince people to eat whales

Japan's hunters kill hundreds of whales every year despite the fact that hardly anyone in...

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder… and the stomachs of unsuspecting wildlife

As Valentine’s Day is approaching and couples primp for their special date night, are they doing so at the expense of our environment?  From facial cleansers to toothpaste, abrasives are prevalent in “beauty” items to exfoliate and ensure that we are putting our best face forward.  But what makes these products feel coarse to the touch are a lot rougher on the environment than it is on your face. 

Micro-beads, or micro-plastics, are often used in products to provide the grainy texture which helps to exfoliate.  As they are nearly invisible, many do not realize the major role they are playing in wreaking havoc when you wash them down your drain.  Serving as a magnet for nasty chemicals like hydrocarbons and flame retardants, these beads, inevitably end up in our oceans.

Once in our waterways and oceans, everything from fish to birds and worms ingest these plastics.  This is how the nasty hitchhiking chemicals on these micro- beads are introduced into the food web and “bio-accumulate”, or build up.  As they build up they become toxic, impacting everything from fish to whales to humans that consume the contaminated prey lower on the food chain. 

While many have been aware of the issue for some time, regulations preventing the use of micro-plastics have been slow to develop.  This week, however, lawmakers in state of New York put forward legislation that would ban the sale of products containing micro-plastics in their state.  WDC applauds Assemblyman Robert K. Sweeney of Suffolk County and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for proposing this action which we hope, is the first, in a series of many.  The more states that ban the use of micro-plastics will mean a great reduction in the bio-waste and micro-plastics in our waterways and oceans. 

There are also things that individuals can do to help stop the problem, because, as they say, there is an app for that – you’re only a download away from finding out if the products you chose are micro bead free!  Please help us in our fight to protect our oceans, whales and ourselves by making sure your date night is also a safe night for the environment. 

About Regina Asmutis-silvia

Executive director - WDC North America