Now that the federal government has enacted a ban on microbeads, Erie County legislators may move to strike down their own local ban.
The ban in Erie County was signed into law by County Executive Mark Poloncarz last August and called on stores to pull these products from their shelves in six months or face fines.
But the local law was written with a section that specified if the state or federal government passed similar legislation, it would make the local law null and void.
The federal ban was enacted last December and specifies that items with microbeads can no longer be produced after July 1, 2017 and can no longer be sold after July 1, 2018.
On Thursday, lawmakers will consider whether or not to pass a resolution to keep or ax the local law banning microbeads.
Microbeads are found in cosmetic products and the plastic particles are too fine to be caught in wastewater treatment plants. They flow by the billions into the Great Lakes and other waterways and scientists say they're also showing up inside fish that are caught for human consumption.
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