Workers providing Septic Services in Stockbridge GA sometimes encounter a relatively unusual problem caused by the household residents using products containing plastic microbeads. These tiny beads can be found in various cosmetic products such as toothpaste, soap, and facial scrubs. The beads also have been included in household cleaning products. They are intended to add harmless grit, which is useful for removing surface stains from teeth, dead cells from the top layer of skin, and grime from hard surfaces around the home.
Legislation
The U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2015 that bans the manufacture and sale of products with these beads because they have caused problems at municipal wastewater treatment plants and also can escape into waterways. In rivers, lakes, streams and other bodies of water, wildlife can be negatively affected by these tiny beads. Fish, ducks, and other creatures can easily consume them, believing the beads are food. This can make the wildlife sick.
Effects on Septic Systems
Technicians who provide Septic Services in Stockbridge GA know that these little pieces of plastic can wreak havoc in a residential septic system too. The main issue is that the system is designed to send only liquid out to the drain field, where it is filtered down through the soil. The solids are held in the tank until the tank is pumped by a company such as MTG Services. Regrading microbeads, the bits of plastic tend to be discharged with the liquid. That can damage the leach field. Repairing this field can be an expensive undertaking.
Solids are blocked from pipes heading to the field by effluent screens. Those filters are not big enough to block microbeads, which is similar to the problem workers encounter in municipal treatment plants.
The Problem of Continued Use
Although the products have been banned, they are still around and continue to be used in many households because people purchased them before the beads were banned. Many U.S. residents aren’t even aware of the ban or the harm that microbeads can do. All these items should be disposed of in the trash. The possible exception would be household cleaners that are used with paper towels, and then those towels are thrown in the trash. Visit the website for more information.
