"Surfrider Vancouver - Making Waves in Our Community"

Mathew Unger from Surfrider Vancouver came today to up date us on the little know but very important use of plastic Micro beads.

It all started in Santa Monica in California in 1980.

A local development project was being proposed of Hotels, apartment buildings and shops all on the valuable coastline.

It would have spoiled the local beach.

A protest was started and the size and location of the development was greatly altered and made better to suit the beachfront property.

Now that the group was formed and had the environment in the forefront they challenged themselves to look further.

Micro-Beads were the challenge they decided to take up.

This is a new problem.  They were not even made 15 years ago yet today they are everywhere.

They are small fillers used to bulk up products like toothpaste and dishwasher powder.

They are so small they pass through all the filters we have and end up in the Ocean.

Now our chapter here in Vancouver has expanded to join the other 140 chapters around the world.

They have done beach clean up here and other locations like Tofino.  At first they had just a few out.

Now upwards of 100 people working on a day.

These micro beads are from 0ne tenth of a micron to half a mil.  Small and cheap.

15 years ago they didn’t exist.  We used waste agricultural products such as Coconut husks, apricot seeds, crushed eggshells and baking powder etc.

The micro beads have turned up in fish guts and animals in their bile ducts.

We can beat the bead!

They are made in green, orange, and red products.

IKEA has come on board and will not stock items that contain the beads.

The local environment minister has called us for a consultation.

That has just happened this week.

The reason the micro beads are so popular is they are cheaper.

We must reward the companies that don’t use them by buying their products.

It’s the only way till governments ban them.

Lawrence Duff thanked the speaker.