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Congress Bans Microbeads

NPR

Published December 23, 2015 at 1:35 PM EST

Companies will be require to phase out microbeads, sometimes found in toothpaste, by July 2017. (Thegreenj/Wikimedia Commons)

Microbeads – those little round spheres of plastic that are in everything from facewash to toothpaste – may soon be a thing of the past.

Before leaving town for the holidays, Congress passed a bill banning them, due to environmental concerns. Companies will be require to phase them out by July of 2017.

Samuel Burke of CNN joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to look at what this means for companies.

Guest

Samuel Burke, business correspondent for CNN. He tweets @samuelcnn.