PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — They’re probably in your house somewhere.

Microbeads, tiny pieces of plastic usually added to make a product more abrasive, are a common ingredient in facial scrubs, body washes, hand cleansers and toothpaste. They’re designed to be rinsed down the drain, but opponents say the billions of pieces are too small to be captured by wastewater treatment plants and are ending up in waterways and the stomachs of animals. 

Currently seven states — Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, Colorado, Indiana and Maryland — have legislation that restricts or prohibits the use of microbeads and legislation is under consideration in 13 other states, including New York. 

But if U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D – N.Y.)  has her way, the bans won’t be limited to individual states.

Gillibrand began a new push on Monday in Plattsburgh introducing the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, legislation to federally ban cosmetics containing synthetic plastic microbeads, saying they pose great risks to health and environment.

“These tiny pieces of plastic have already caused significant ecological damage to New York’s waterways,” she said, “and they will continue to do so until they are removed from the marketplace… Plastic microbeads are too small to be stopped by normal water treatment systems, and they collect toxins in the water that harm not only fish and birds but also the people in this region who rely on them for food and well-being.”

’19 TONS ANNUALLY’

An April 2015 report released by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s office found that microbeads were present in 74 percent of water samples taken from 34 municipal and private treatment plants across the state. 

“Microbeads are a threat to our environment, our wildlife and our public health,” Schneiderman, who heads efforts in New York to ban the beads, said in a statement. “New Yorkers wash more than 19 tons of microbeads down the drain every year. Strong, comprehensive regulation is the only way to stop this situation from getting worse.” 

Sites like beatthemicrobead.org and 5gyres.org push #BantheBead social media campaigns and promote petitions to ban the plastics and ban them quickly. 

“Many people still think that when a product is rinsed down the shower drain, or thrown away, that should be the last they hear of it,” said Bill Howland, director of the Lake Champlain Basin Program.  “But we have learned that it is impossible to throw or rinse away much of anything because there really is no such place as away. This is especially true of plastic microbeads.

“They provide a perfect surface for wastewater toxins to bond and collect. And then they enter the food chain, and the toxins are concentrated.”

Schneiderman said the beads can last for decades and when found in oceans and lakes, pose environmental and health risks because of the pollutants they can attract and carry. 

Wildlife and aquatic animals ingest the beads, which cause internal issues and exposure to concentrated levels of toxins.

BIPARTISAN BILL

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the bipartisan Microbead-Free Waters Act with Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Gary Peters (D-MI). 

The legislation is also co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). 

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.