NY attorney general: microbeads should be banned

New York's attorney general wants to ban microbeads in New York State. Smaller than a grain of sand, microbeads are in personal care products we use every day like facial cleansers and tooth paste. Environmentalists say that when we wash those products down the drain microbeads can end up in the water supply.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says that microbeads serve as little toxic sponges. When they get in the water they absorb toxins and then fish eat them.

A bill has stalled in the state legislature that would ban microbeads statewide. But the movement has picked up steam in the city. City Councilman Dan Gorodick introduced similar legislation to ban the sale of products containing microbeads in New York City.