Glitter Banned At Nurseries

20 November 2017 | Updated 01 January 1970

Tops Day Nurseries have decided to ban glitter from their facilities. Although much loved as an art and craft favourite, glitter is a microplastic, just like microbeads.

Microbeads have already been banned in parts of the world and are set to become expelled in the UK. Environment Minister Nick Smith announced in July that cosmetics and products, such as toothpaste, that contain tiny plastic pieces called microbeads will be banned next year.

Glitter - tiny, shimmering specs of microplastic - are virtually impossible to remove from the environment once there.

A Tops Day Nurseries spokesperson said: "When we’ve finished using plastic glitter for play, in decorating a card, sprinkling it into playdough or glue or painting with it, it goes into a bin or into the sink. It can’t be recycled because it isn’t practical to do so, it’s too small to separate out.

"Over time large pieces of plastic break down slowly so there is at least the opportunity to pick it up or sieve it. Glitter enters the environment by landfill, through the air being blown around, it sticks to people’s hands and goes down the sink into the water system, it sticks to peoples clothes or mops, which go through the washing machine, and out into the water system.

"We already know that 100% of mussels found off France and Belgium have ingested microplastics and many fish have too; so if you eat shell fish you more than likely have eaten microplastics already, along with the toxic additives that manufacturers use (for colour, flexibility etc.) which are known to copy oestrogen, and affect human fertility."

Other measures

the spokesperson continued: "To minimise damage being inflicted on the environment we have already stopped using plastic aprons and are using cloth ones instead and we have removed single use items such as straws and balloons as well as one use plastic cups, cutlery or plates. The children are also encouraged to recycle and to care for the environment as part of our Zero to Landfill goal. We also have started installing solar panels at our nurseries, all company cars are electric, we encourage the use of electric bikes over driving, we have installed time and light sensors, timers on water coolers and heaters, fuel saving magnets on gas and water mains, introduced bamboo toothbrushes and recycled paint."

Picture: Tops Day Nurseries have decided to ban glitter from their facilities as part of a further reaching policy on reducing their environmental impacts

Article written by Cathryn Ellis | Published 20 November 2017