Abstract:
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles less than 5 micrometers and originate from primary
sources and breakdown from large plastic particles. Personal care and cosmetics product
manufacturers use microplastic ingredients instead of natural ingredients in their product
formulations. This is a primary source of microplastics entering the environment. However,
removing microplastic from the environment is very difficult and very costly. Most people use
personal care and cosmetics products without knowing microplastics instead of natural
ingredients. Therefore, the perception of the community is vital to reducing microplastic
pollution. The current study investigated microplastic ingredients released from personal care
and cosmetics products used by females in Embilipitiya, and their perception of microplastics
in personal care and cosmetics products. The researcher used a quantitative approach to fulfill
the objectives. A questionnaire was distributed among the females in Embilipitiya, using a
stratified random sampling method. 312 responses were used for the analysis. Moreover,
descriptive analysis and the chi-square test were used to obtain results. The researcher found
that 48.5% of females in Embilipitiya use microplastics containing personal care and cosmetics
products. Furthermore, most females in Embilipitiya do not use microplastic ingredients
containing shampoo, face wash & facial scrubs. The researcher found that MPs contain face
wash/cleanser usage respondents where 48.94% remain 51.06% respondents used face wash or
facial cleanser which does not contain MPs. The scrub's usage was 64 respondents,21 of
respondents used MPs ingredients that contained scrubs (32.81%), and 43 respondents used
MPs not containing scrubs (67.19%). Of the 200 respondents (64.1%),80.0% of respondents
used MPs containing shampoo. The Remaining 20.0% of respondents used MPs, not including
shampoo. According to the respondents’ perspective, an awareness program /education is the
best way to reduce microplastic pollution.
