HC Orders Probe Into Microplastics in Toothpastes

Toothpaste representational image.

The High Court on Monday ordered the formation of a three-member expert committee to investigate whether 26 toothpaste products sold in Bangladesh contain harmful microplastics, following findings published in a recent study.

The order was passed by a High Court bench comprising Justice Khizir Ahmed Chowdhury and Justice Md Ziaul Haque, directing the committee to submit its report within 15 days.

The court instructed the Health Services Division secretary and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) to form the committee with one expert each from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) Science Laboratory and BSTI.

The committee has been tasked with examining the presence of harmful microplastics in the toothpaste products identified in the study and submitting its findings to the court within the stipulated timeframe.

The court also issued a rule asking why effective measures should not be taken to prevent the presence of harmful microplastics in toothpaste sold in the country.

The health secretary, environment secretary, commerce secretary, BSTI and other respondents have been asked to explain within four weeks.

The order followed a study published on Sunday by the Environment and Social Development Organization, which reported that nearly three out of every four toothpaste products tested in Bangladesh contained microplastics.

Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than five millimetres that originate from degraded plastic waste, synthetic textiles and manufactured plastic beads. They can contaminate air, water and soil and eventually enter the bodies of humans and animals.

The year-long study detected microplastic particles in 26 of 34 toothpaste samples, representing 76.5% of the products tested from 19 local and imported brands available in the Bangladeshi market.

The writ petition was argued by Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Md Abdullah Al Mamun, who filed it on 27 July seeking an independent investigation into the reported presence of harmful microplastics in the toothpaste samples.