MICROPLASTIC RELEASE FROM PERSONAL CARE AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS USED BY FEMALES IN EMBILIPITIYA

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.