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Date
I had intended to write (and probably will later) about a Microsoft effort to trial underwater data centers, to solve the issue of heat generated by server farms. Instead, another water-related project issue hit me – literally – when I stumbled on a BBC article about, of all things, beauty and tooth-care products.
The article (click here for it) discussed a proposal for a worldwide ban on microbeads. I didn’t even know what these were, but vaguely in my memory I recall using products that have a ‘gritty’ feel to them, for example, a toothpaste which promises whiter teeth, or a body scrub that promises smooth skin and exfoliation.
The more I read, the more the article ‘hit home’. I saw a connection to sustainability in PM. Here is a product concept that launched (many times over, with many manufacturers) without the long-term thinking into the use of the end product. This is one of our key themes in our books, Green Project Management and Driving Sustainability Success. Think beyond the handover of your product (and/or service) to the steady-state use.
So what’s the deal here? From this article, here is an excellent short-form description of the issue:
What Is A Microbead?
A microbead is any solid plastic particle that is less than 5 millimeters and is used for the purpose of exfoliating or cleansing. These tiny plastic beads can be found in hundreds of products ranging from body scrubs to toothpastes.
Why The Concern?
Because microbeads are made of plastic, they do not dissolve and thus pose a threat to the environment by polluting oceans and lakes. A study published in Environmental Science & Technology reported that more than 8 trillion microbeads were entering the country's water habitats daily, which is enough to cover the surface of 300 tennis courts every day.
Turns out, President Obama (read the rest of this article) just signed into law some bipartisan legislation (I didn’t think we did that anymore, but evidently we can do it!) which addresses this issue and will take these products off the shelf.
And that includes my shelf.
This is the part where the story really hit home, because on our shower shelf, indeed, is a product called Bliss Super Minty Soap'n Scrub Energizing Exfoliator for the Body.
Although the product talks about 'blue jojoba beads', the second ingredient after water (which it also calls 'aqua' - seriously?) is polyethylene - no mention of 'jojoba' after the marketing blurb.
And indeed, the product shows up bright red on a site called “beat the microbead”, a Dutch non-profit which provides product lists worldwide and via color-code (red is bad, of course) shows where your products fit on the spectrum. They have even introduced an app which lets you do this research very easily on your smartphone.
It’s important. A single shower can result in 100,000 plastic particles entering the ocean.
And here’s a chilling way to think about it. You may be eating someone else’s used microbeads. Eww. Eww!
From the BBC article:
Microplastic pollution is potentially more environmentally damaging than larger plastic waste, because it is more likely to be eaten by wildlife. Microplastics also have a greater surface area to attract toxins.
Professor Tamara Galloway from Exeter University said: “We find pieces of plastic in every sample of seawater we study from round the world. Many marine animals ingest microbeads, mistaking them for food. They can then be lodged in the animals’ gut – preventing them from eating nutritious food.
“An average plate of oysters could contain up to 50 plastic particles. We don’t have any evidence yet for the harm this might cause but most people would probably prefer not to be eating microbeads with their food.”
The connection to project management – one more time – think about your project’s product IN USE, in its steady state. That includes thinking about eating someone else’s shower effluent when you have seafood.
Is that why the oyster above has a sardonic smile?
Posted
by
Richard Maltzman
on: August 24, 2016 10:36 PM |
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