Following a grace period of six months following the Waste Minimization (Microbeads) Regulations 2017 published, New Zealand is going to officially ban microbeads in cosmetic products.
New Zealand published its Waste Minimization (Microbeads) Regulations 2017 on December 4, 2017. Following a grace period of six months, the manufacturer and sale of wash-off products that contain microbeads for certain purposes?is officially banned from June 7, 2018.
Microbeads, in this regulation, are defined as a water-insoluble plastic particle that is less than 5mm at its widest point. Wash-off products which provide one or more of the following purposes are not allowed to contain microbeads:
- Exfoliation of all or part of a person