SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The California Assembly on Friday advanced one of the nation’s toughest bans on plastic, exfoliating microbeads that are polluting waterways.

The bill passed on a 58 to 11 vote with no spoken opposition. It heads to the Senate where similar legislation fell short over industry opposition last year.

Environmental advocates across the U.S. have targeted tiny exfoliating beads found in soap, toothpaste and body washes because they don’t disintegrate and make their way into the stomachs of marine life.

Manufacturers already have pledged to phase out the materials, including L’Oreal, Unilever and Johnson & Johnson, and use natural alternatives such as apricot shells and cocoa beans.

“Over the long run the continuing use (of microbeads) carries serious costs for our environment and taxpayers for cleanup,” said the bill’s sponsor Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, before the vote.

His bill, AB888, would prohibit the sale of personal care products containing microbeads starting in 2020.

Driven to action by pollution in the Great Lakes, Illinois was the first of at least six states to adopt similar bans. Unlike other states, California’s proposal would not make an exception for biodegradable plastic.

Brian O’Hara, a spokesman for the bill’s sponsor Californians Against Waste, says polluting beads can still end up in rivers and the ocean under existing standards for biodegradable plastic.

Industry groups that opposed the bill said it would apply beyond plastic microbeads and create “a legal quagmire,” according to a bill analysis.

The Personal Care Products Council has dropped its opposition to the legislation, and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Other states that have targeted microbeads include Colorado, New Jersey, Maryland, Maine and Indiana.

___

Follow Fenit Nirappil on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FenitN

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.